Obama Shops at Well-Known Washington Bookstore

President Barack Obama is doing his part to support small businesses.

Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha dropped in Saturday at Washington’s Politics and Prose bookstore and purchased what he said was a “long list” of books. The president said he bought a reader for every age, from 5 to 52 — his age. He paid by credit card. The total was not announced.

Earlier Saturday, Obama had made an online post about the importance of supporting small businesses.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving has become known as “Small Business Saturday.” It’s designed to drive business to mom-and-pop shops between the whirlwind of Black Friday sales offered by large retailers and Cyber Monday deals from online sellers.

An event created in 2010 to help draw customers, Saturday’s “shop small” efforts are expected to generate big sales nationally. Consumers aware of Small Business Saturday in 2012 spent $5.5 billion at independent merchants, according to the National Federation of Independent Business and American Express.

Some merchants are enrolled in an American Express promotion giving consumers a $10 credit for shopping Saturday at a small business.