Building Community, One Gift at a Time
December 2005
Once upon a time many years ago our good friend Mary Engelbreit was looking for some book-related inspiration for a picture she wanted to make. My business partner, Barry Leibman, offered her the phrase she ultimately used, "A Book Is a Present You Can Open Again and Again." That drawing, which she made for us, was reproduced as a poster that was popular nationwide with teachers and librarians for years. The original still hangs in the bookstore. The sentiment it celebrates has special resonance in this, the heaviest gift giving time of the year.
After all, like it or not, the high social expectations of the season are inevitably translated through the lens of commercialism. That lens depicts a dreamy land of fluffy snow, steaming hot chocolate and lots and lots of stuff, stuff we are told will prove our love for our storybook families and friends. Some of that stuff is definitely not worth giving to anyone even once, yet we are all vulnerable to the notion that spiritual fulfillment starts with our wallets.
You may be wondering why, in the middle of the busiest month of the year for our store, I would want to expose the pitfalls of consumerism. After all, Left Bank Books needs the holiday season, not to line the pockets of remote stockholders who care little for how we do it, but for ourselves—booksellers who juggle finances all year in hopes of a healthy holiday season. But we also need the holiday sales for our community—people like you who value the contribution to our city’s culture that an independent bookstore makes.
That is precisely why I wish to expose the Emperor of Greed. He doesn’t live at the North Pole. He doesn’t live in St. Louis. He cares little for what you buy as long as you buy it from a giant chainstore or remote e-tailer. He gives nothing back to the community that wracked up billions of dollars on credit cards for him. He’s been given tax breaks so he won’t be supporting the schools, roads, police or fire districts whose services he uses. He buys many of his operating supplies from out of town locations rather than from your neighbor’s small business. He uses his Wall Street accountants, not a local firm. He sells you a service contract that sends you overseas for support that rarely works. But he doesn’t care, he’s done with you. As a vast, nameless entity, the Emperor of Greed is not actually accountable to you. As well, although Aunt Mabel may like the sweater from T-g-t, your good deal came at the expense of your community’s infrastructure in lost tax revenue. That $9 sweater may actually have cost you an extra $200 in this year’s property taxes. After all, somebody’s got to pay for the storm sewers.
I have lived in St. Louis my whole life and been a bookseller at Left Bank Books for 32 years. Our customers are not wallets, they are our community. They are our neighbors. They have become our friends and even family over the years. We are accountable to them, to you. We pay our taxes, we vote in local elections for school boards and city councils. We have a stake in the quality of our local services, in the re-sources available for the education of our families, friends and neighbors. We love our customers. We know you struggle this time of year as we do, to make conscientious, meaningful decisions about what you buy.
We also know that sometimes your loved ones need something besides the book you discovered at Left Bank Books. That’s why I want to remind you about the benefits of making all of your shopping destinations locally-owned businesses. For about a half a dozen years, I’ve made it a point to stay out of malls in the holiday season. This may seem daunting, but actually I’ve found it to be extremely rewarding. Besides the piles of books everyone gets from me, I’ve stuffed stockings with gift cards from Vintage Vinyl, beautiful one-of-a-kind items from Plowsharing Crafts, MacroSun International or Xen Gallery, racy items from Cheap Trx and Heffalump’s, fabulous toys from Imagination Toys, great pet gifts from Pet Connections or Wolfgang’s Petstop, outstanding candy from Bissinger’s. Often, people know my name in those places. I can ask questions, tailor my purchase to suit my needs, get an unexpected spur of the moment deal. I can talk to the same person I bought it from if it’s broken.
But best of all, I know that just as a book is a present that can be opened again and again, a gift from a locally-owned store is a gift to my whole community. A healthy local economy is built on successful locally-owned businesses. As a board member of BUILD St. Louis, (Businesses United for Independent Local Development), I’ve seen the economic impact studies that have found over and over, that money spent at locally-owned indepen-dent businesses results in two to three times the community reinvestment as compared to the same dollars spent at chainstores.
For more information on the importance of shopping locally and for a list of independent local businesses, please visit www.BUILDstlouis.org.
All of us at Left Bank Books are extremely grateful for your support. We wish you the best of the season. May your many blessings include a community that you can enjoy again and again.
Happy Holidays!
Once upon a time many years ago our good friend Mary Engelbreit was looking for some book-related inspiration for a picture she wanted to make. My business partner, Barry Leibman, offered her the phrase she ultimately used, "A Book Is a Present You Can Open Again and Again." That drawing, which she made for us, was reproduced as a poster that was popular nationwide with teachers and librarians for years. The original still hangs in the bookstore. The sentiment it celebrates has special resonance in this, the heaviest gift giving time of the year.
After all, like it or not, the high social expectations of the season are inevitably translated through the lens of commercialism. That lens depicts a dreamy land of fluffy snow, steaming hot chocolate and lots and lots of stuff, stuff we are told will prove our love for our storybook families and friends. Some of that stuff is definitely not worth giving to anyone even once, yet we are all vulnerable to the notion that spiritual fulfillment starts with our wallets.
You may be wondering why, in the middle of the busiest month of the year for our store, I would want to expose the pitfalls of consumerism. After all, Left Bank Books needs the holiday season, not to line the pockets of remote stockholders who care little for how we do it, but for ourselves—booksellers who juggle finances all year in hopes of a healthy holiday season. But we also need the holiday sales for our community—people like you who value the contribution to our city’s culture that an independent bookstore makes.
That is precisely why I wish to expose the Emperor of Greed. He doesn’t live at the North Pole. He doesn’t live in St. Louis. He cares little for what you buy as long as you buy it from a giant chainstore or remote e-tailer. He gives nothing back to the community that wracked up billions of dollars on credit cards for him. He’s been given tax breaks so he won’t be supporting the schools, roads, police or fire districts whose services he uses. He buys many of his operating supplies from out of town locations rather than from your neighbor’s small business. He uses his Wall Street accountants, not a local firm. He sells you a service contract that sends you overseas for support that rarely works. But he doesn’t care, he’s done with you. As a vast, nameless entity, the Emperor of Greed is not actually accountable to you. As well, although Aunt Mabel may like the sweater from T-g-t, your good deal came at the expense of your community’s infrastructure in lost tax revenue. That $9 sweater may actually have cost you an extra $200 in this year’s property taxes. After all, somebody’s got to pay for the storm sewers.
I have lived in St. Louis my whole life and been a bookseller at Left Bank Books for 32 years. Our customers are not wallets, they are our community. They are our neighbors. They have become our friends and even family over the years. We are accountable to them, to you. We pay our taxes, we vote in local elections for school boards and city councils. We have a stake in the quality of our local services, in the re-sources available for the education of our families, friends and neighbors. We love our customers. We know you struggle this time of year as we do, to make conscientious, meaningful decisions about what you buy.
We also know that sometimes your loved ones need something besides the book you discovered at Left Bank Books. That’s why I want to remind you about the benefits of making all of your shopping destinations locally-owned businesses. For about a half a dozen years, I’ve made it a point to stay out of malls in the holiday season. This may seem daunting, but actually I’ve found it to be extremely rewarding. Besides the piles of books everyone gets from me, I’ve stuffed stockings with gift cards from Vintage Vinyl, beautiful one-of-a-kind items from Plowsharing Crafts, MacroSun International or Xen Gallery, racy items from Cheap Trx and Heffalump’s, fabulous toys from Imagination Toys, great pet gifts from Pet Connections or Wolfgang’s Petstop, outstanding candy from Bissinger’s. Often, people know my name in those places. I can ask questions, tailor my purchase to suit my needs, get an unexpected spur of the moment deal. I can talk to the same person I bought it from if it’s broken.
But best of all, I know that just as a book is a present that can be opened again and again, a gift from a locally-owned store is a gift to my whole community. A healthy local economy is built on successful locally-owned businesses. As a board member of BUILD St. Louis, (Businesses United for Independent Local Development), I’ve seen the economic impact studies that have found over and over, that money spent at locally-owned indepen-dent businesses results in two to three times the community reinvestment as compared to the same dollars spent at chainstores.
For more information on the importance of shopping locally and for a list of independent local businesses, please visit www.BUILDstlouis.org.
All of us at Left Bank Books are extremely grateful for your support. We wish you the best of the season. May your many blessings include a community that you can enjoy again and again.
Happy Holidays!
posted by Left Bank Books at 10:39 AM
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