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Celebrity Book Clubs & Readers' Advisory

Butler, R., Cowan, B., & Nilsson, S. (2005) discuss the effect of Oprah's book club on selected books' performance on the best seller list after being selected. The study took at look at how well books did after Oprah selected books for her book club in the three months following her selection. Butler et al. discovered that all books ended up on the top 150 best seller list for several week after selection.

How do these celebrity book clubs influence readers' advisory?

I remember working in the library when Oprah would select a book. Several people would call the same day wanting to find that particular book. Unfortunately the library's supply was always much lower than the demand. This left readers wanting something that they could not get. Back then I had no idea about readers' advisory. I just shelved books and occasionally pointed out the non-fiction area or the children's books. Today I know that celebrity book clubs have boosted the need readers' advisory at times. When those books are not available we have to find something that is similar to what our patrons are looking for to satiate their reading appetite.

How do we find books for patrons when they really wanted that particular book?

There is something to be said about being well read, but even the most well read librarian cannot know all there is to know about every book that will end up as a celebrity book club selection. For example, I recently read Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton which was an Oprah Book Club pick through the O Magazine. I would not have know about this book or title without reading the magazine. Using tools like magazines such Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Review can help us keep up with upcoming books and help us seem more well read. Tools like NoveList can help when were are in a bind. Overall it is our job to help patrons find what they want or something similar.

Comments

  1. Erin CataldiFebruary 27, 2017 at 9:23 AM

    Full points!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Avery SmithMarch 6, 2017 at 4:40 PM

    Thanks for sharing your personal experiences around what happened at the library whenever Oprah's book club announced a new book. I wasn't working at the library when Oprah's book club was in full swing, so this was informative. I also think you make a great point about educating ourselves, as librarians, with lots of readalikes and a general understanding of the books recommended not only in Oprah's book club, but also in her magazine in general. Good idea!

    ReplyDelete

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