Short Takes

Two chairs, occupied by guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show, are traveling to libraries nationwide, delighting fans of the daytime talk-show doyenne and literacy advocate. The tour is sponsored by the Harnisch Family Foundation, which purchased the caramel-colored leather armchairs on eBay for a $64,100 contribution to Oprah’s Angel Network. Oprah’s autograph is visible on the side of each chair. The chairs “promote reading,” says Lisa Jacobs, assistant director of the Hampton Bays (NY) Public Library, which has placed them in the children’s section where parents and children can settle together into the comfortable seats. At the Nashville Public Library in Nashville, TN, where Oprah grew up, Community Affairs Administrator Pam Reese says the library uses the armchairs to market books and other materials about Oprah.

A July survey by the National Retail Association (www.nrf.com) found that families expected to spend an average of $443.77 on back-to-school items this year. An SLJ survey in 2002 revealed that the nation’s school librarians had a median budget for books per pupil of $8.86.