Yesterday I went from store to store, asking very nicely for donations for our summer reading raffles.  I know times are tough, and so all I did at each store was present a donation request letter on the library letterhead; if there was any hesitation on the part of the store manager, I said, “I can just leave the letter, and if you decide you’d like to contact me, my phone number is at the bottom.”  Basically, I go into this project not really expecting anything, and am very happy if a store donates an item or gift certificate to the library.

Why do I ask for donations from local businesses?  Two reasons:  library budgets are small, and donations are one way to provide prizes for summer readers; and as a former small business manager, I am a firm supporter of local small businesses, and view this as a good way for local stores to promote themselves and expand their customer base.  If a store donates a $5.00 gift certificate, and the winner of that certificate comes to the store for the first time, that person just might decide that this is a store they want to visit again, and a new recurring customer is born.

In my travels yesterday, I did notice that there was a lot of fear and pain in the eyes of the store managers and owners.  Clearly, business is not good.  Clearly, the economy is taking its toll on small businesses.  By the end of the day, I was feeling rather crummy about having asked for donations, and very depressed about the state of our economy.  Things do not look good.

And then this morning I came into work to find a voicemail from a business owner who had donated last year.  It was a pretty angry, borderline combative message, saying something along the lines of, “Mailing a letter to my business isn’t enough.  You need to prove to me that you shop here.”  Ironically, I didn’t mail the letter, I came by in person.  And I do shop at the store.  I’m not on their mailing list, but I have shopped there.

In short, asking for summer reading donations was a pretty negative and depressing experience this year.  A true sign of the times; I’m frightened for what the future will be bringing to our country.