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Special Topics Paper: Celebrity Book Clubs

Book clubs have been around since, well since the American library has been around. Actually before American libraries the French apparently had salons that had book clubs (Chelton, 2001). In more recent history Oprah brought about the celebrity book club. Of course, before Oprah Americans read books, but reading was apparently on the decline. Maybe this had something to do with Americans watching more TV than reading, but Oprah set out to get Americans reading again. Through her television talk show Oprah brought about a book club that got many Americans reading again.

Other celebrities followed suit. In Britain a talk show husband and wife pair Richard and Judy had a talk show that went on for several years. As time passed book both Oprah and Richard and Judy's book clubs became top book clubs in their respective countries. Oprah's book club was a sensation and soon became an online presence. The book club gave way to other celebrity book clubs from the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Lena Dunham, Emma Watson, and even Mark Zurkerberg.

One of the major implications of celebrity book clubs is their ability to influence library patrons' reading choices. As librarians we are responsible for selecting books for use now and that will be of use later to patrons. High demand for celebrity book club books can skew the libraries decisions in selecting books. Librarians must anticipate the needs of users and determine which books to purchase based on what is popular now and what will be needed later.

Overall celebrity book clubs have helped to develop a sense of readership in America again. This sense of readership is essential in keeping Americans reading. As librarians we should hone in on this sense of readership and encourage it by having the selected book club books available as well as books that relate to those books. We should always keep in mind the needs of the reader as well as their wants.

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