Until the end of July, your Santa Clara City Library card is a discount card at 34 small businesses in the city. These discounts include 15 percent off at Citti’s Florist, 15 percent off at Delicious Crepes Bistro, $1 off a haircut at Big Jim’s Barber, and a free 30-minute consultation with an attorney at Mlnarik Law Group.
“We have a grant called Discover Santa Clara, and it targets the small business community in Santa Clara City,” says Morgan Rose Pershing, the program grant manager and a reference librarian for the Santa Clara City Library. “We’ve had great feedback, and we’ve been getting more foot traffic from business owners.”
When the library lists a small business as a card partner, that business receives community exposure.
“For instance, Mission City Creamery just opened six months ago and since this program started, they’ve gotten about 100 people go in to use the discount,” Pershing says.
Angie Poon owns Just Breathe Yoga. Honored her business was selected for the card program, Poon now finds the library more accessible.
“I look forward to checking out business books and yoga books at the Northside Library opening up next to my studio,” Poon says.
“[We asked] a San Francisco Bay Area Etsy panel to come out and talk about how to start a home business,” Pershing says. “Later in the summer, we’re also having a program about how Yelp can help your business.
“We want small business owners to know what the library has to offer them,” Pershing says. “We have books, we have databases, and we even have small rooms for meetings.”
Visit http://library.santaclaraca.gov/discoversantaclara for a complete list of participating businesses currently offering discounts and information on dates and times of various summer programs.
