Notables slated for annual library series

Photojournalist Gerd Ludwig, who has worked for National Geographic, Time and Life magazines, will kick off the 10th annual Distinguished Speakers Lecture Series later this month at the Newport Beach Public Library.

The 2007 series, announced Monday by the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation, also includes sports journalist Frank Deford in February, writer Michael Pollan in March, religious scholar Reza Aslan in April, and political commentator and writer Andrew Sullivan in May.

Thanks to a sponsorship from Canon, Ludwig’s appearance is an extra in a series that normally includes four speakers. Although the foundation, which funds the series, has brought in provocative lineups that included “Fast Food Nation” author Eric Schlosser in 2005 and retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni in 2004, good speakers have gotten more expensive in the series’ 10-year history, Newport Beach Public Library Foundation Vice President Jason Sherr said.

The foundation raises the money through private donations, and it has to forego the biggest names because they charge too much, he said. Series organizers look for speakers on topics that are timely or that they haven’t covered before, and they try to catch people before they’re big.

“It’s kind of neat to get them before they’re in the mainstream,” Sherr said.

For information on the 2007 Distinguished Speakers Lecture Series, call (949) 548-2411 or visit www.nbplfoundation.org.