Berry served as president of the American Library Association from 2001 to 2002, leading the profession's response to the Children's Internet Protection Act.
[5] Berry was the director of advancement and research associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1990 to 1996.
[7] In 2010 he was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, Illinois.
[7] During his administration as president of the American Library Association (ALA) from 2001 to 2002, Berry's focal points were on library recruitment of strong leaders and bridging the digital divide.
[6][3] He also led an ALA visit to Cuba in 2001 and worked with the Laura Bush Foundation to promote the profession of librarianship.