Chase Talks About Oprah's Book Club

I was working as the head of the Circulation Department at a medium-sized library during the reign of Oprah's Book Club. We could always tell when Oprah's show was over because the calls would start to come in. "I saw a book today on Oprah, and I was wondering if you could get it," they'd say. The next caller would ask, "Do you know that book they had on Oprah today?" We'd respond, "Yes, someone called five minutes ago and requested it before you. Would you like us to put it on hold for you." Silence. "Umm, how long do you think it would take?" "Oh, I'd say about three weeks or so." Then our next move would be to call down to Tech Services, "Oprah announced another one. We might want to order multiple copies."

Eventually, we created a shelf dedicated to Oprah's selections right where we displayed our new books. Some of the books we had already had previously to her announcement, and those copies did not have her book club selection logo on them. To make it easier for my pages to recognize those books, I created an Oprah spine label using a photo of her head (similar to the one above.) It amused me especially when there were multiple books on the shelf displaying an entire row of Oprah heads. The picture I used wasn't all that flattering either. I also took pleasure in having our Tech Services department call me requesting more Oprah heads. In job interviews, I'm tempted to tell them that one of my greatest accomplishments in my library career was those spine labels.

Regardless of how much fun I had making fun of Oprah's head, her book club brought a lot of people into the library looking for her suggestions. However, the cloud inside that silver lining was that Oprah's idea of a great book didn't necessarily gel with that of small town library patrons. Oprah liked books that gave her enlightenment - or - as she would say her "a-ha moment." Our library patrons wanted a good story, which I'm sure the books had, but they weren't necessarily looking for the same deep moving experience that Oprah was. Her "a-ha moment" was sometimes their "uh-what moment." I'm not suggesting that the majority of her books were misses with our patrons. Still, the strongest reactions were from the books they didn't like, and those tended to be the stories that were not so straight forward.

On the other hand, the books that Oprah suggested that were not a part of her book club were bigger hits with our patrons. Those books were usually the self-help type of books where she'd have the author/expert on to talk about problems that many people across the country experienced. Books on decorating, cooking healthy, organization, etc. Again, we would know when Oprah was over because the calls came in. If the patron did not remember the name or author, it was harder for us to track down in this case. Thankfully, they started putting "books mentioned on the show" on her website. Similarly, the people that Oprah endorsed and brought into her family like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Nate Berkus, were also big hits with our patrons. When Oprah endorsed the self-help book The Secret, people skipped calling and came right on in to the library to get it. I believe that one even inspired a vision board making program at our library.

I do love Oprah though. The book publishing industry loves Oprah. Even if she missed the mark on some occasions, her influence brought a lot of attention to reading and in turn to public libraries.