The nature of our conversation about Amazon needs to change. It needs to become less about individual bookstore transactions and more about facing a common threat to our community’s well being. I knew that. But when a crisis involving my bookstore developed, when the earth began to open under my feet, I understood it with conviction and experience. I’ll share what happened and then offer a thought on two elements involved that I think are worth noting.
The school libraries in the greater Farmington area are among my most important customers. Our town is under considerable financial strain. The school budget necessarily faces significant cuts. The School Library book budget, for example, is slated to be cut in half in all seven schools. There is a robust local group called Support Our Schools, which has a closed online forum with more than 800 members. An active dialogue concerning the library book budget being cut in half developed on the Support Our Schools forum. The idea began to be discussed that, given the shrinking dollars it might be necessary to switch business away from DDG to Amazon and that Amazon Smile might be used as a fundraising source. I had never posted in the group before. The time had come. Here is my post.
Among the many supportive comments which followed was this side thread.
Community Member A: Thanks for putting this out there Kenny, I will be sure to read it. I was the person who suggested Amazon smiles as a means for cash for amazon purchases outside of books. But Donors choose sounds like a better idea to go with. My ideas were not meant to slight the importance of supporting our local businesses.
Kenny: I appreciate that. Big community problems call upon us, as a community, to make the most of what we have together. As I see it, turning to a community killer would be an unhappy irony.
Community Member A : Thanks for the reminder!
A few hours later the side thread continued.
Community Member A: I have to say I’m super embarrassed now that I made the Amazon suggestion. Really. And I read the article you posted here. I’m going to make more of an effort to get back downtown and out of my yoga pants for my shopping. Sorry.
Kenny: That means a lot… Thank you.
It does mean a lot, on many levels. There was an outpouring of support for the store. Every school librarian in the district wrote to me to say that they were shifting their entire book budget to DDG. Here are the two things I want to note. First, that this dialogue needs to go beyond our bookstores and occur wherever issues of community resources are involved. The idea that a community’s values and best value are achieved by partnering with local businesses rather than turning to a community killer needs to be made. People get it, even if they don’t see it at first. Second, many booksellers wonder whether the outreach efforts they make are worth it or whether their good deeds are perhaps not generating enough business to make sense. I’ve always felt that outreach is both important and valuable. Ask yourself this. When a crisis flash point appears, what wouldn’t you give to have a large amount of community goodwill in the bank?
Kenny, as an industry professional, I have watched you work diligently and sincerely to put the right books into the right programs at your local schools. I have watched you pour over printouts for just the right volumes to help young readers who are having a hard time learning to read. I understand the kind of mental acuity it requires and the amount of heart to run a bookstore the way you do. I applaud you and I hope your community really does understand the wonderful and caring resource they have in you and your staff.
I’ m really touched to read that Ellen. Thank you indeed!
I appreciate your initial promotion of Amazon as a book donor, but in my opinion I don’t think we should be looking at any corporate entity as a source for books. The fact is that no single bookstore can sustain the actual number of books being published every year, so that bookstores become “curators” of books. But Amazon’s history as hostile to any effort to keep book sales neutral (that is, it only cares if it has the monopoly on book sales) has made it difficult for bookstore owners to maintain their neutrality. Small d democracy demands that no large corporation should have that kind of monopoly. So your retraction gives me hope that one day we can go into any bookstore and buy any book without the kind of interference Amazon has given to letting the readers choose.
Theresa I think you misread the dialogue conveyed in the post and that you are mistaking my thoughts for those of someone who is quoted here. The promotion and retraction you are referring to came from a community member to whom I was responding, not from me.
Brechner for president!!
But seriously…
Thank you for so concisely, eloquently, and graciously communicating the crux of our challenge as independent retailers in an Amazon world. I’ve had a very hard time finding the right words to say without making our customers feel shamed or defensive for opting for Amazon. In one post, you have concretely shown me the way to change that conversation. Thank you more than anything for sharing that dialogue with this group. One customer at a time!
Yay, Kenny! And we’ll all sing a chorus of Keb Mo’s song, “More for Your Money.” The kick line: “It’s a high price to pay to get more for your money today.”
Much as I’ve preached the same sermon (albeit less graciously) in my community, so many people are unaware that they can often enjoy the convenience of ordering online from LOCAL businesses.
Kenny, I know you’re familiar with this article, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to share it with your readers–all the reasons not to use Amazon Smile. http://alancantorconsulting.com/2014/12/no-dont-smile/
Well said. Had we addressed the threat to local businesses and local economies when the big box stores obliterated our downtowns, we might have been better prepared to confront online shopping whether it comes from ordering books from Amazon or pharmacy items from DrugStore.com. Maybe the book stores will help us reclaim our towns, and that includes the tax dollars that will ultimately help libraries and schools.