Opera Omnia

INSTRUCTION VII
THE BOOK CENTRES
Apostolate centres

The spirit and spiritual background of the book centre and the distribution centre is set out on the sign-board that must be visible to all who enter. It says:

Our book centres are apostolate centres. The Gospel and the picture of Saint Paul testify to this. They are not shops, but a service to the faithful. Not sales, but apostolate through offerings. They do not have customers but cooperators. They are not businesses, they are centres of light and fervor in Jesus Christ. The aim is not profit, but to serve the Church and people. Not to exploit people but to be of service to them. What the faithful and the clergy have to find here are help, enlightenment and direction for their ministry; not prices, but offerings. The book centre mirrors the whole Saint Paul Institute. It is the contact point between the Institute and the people; it is the distribution centre of all the initiatives of Pauline apostolate. It is God's publishing house.
The book centre is a church; the person behind the counter, which is a pulpit of truth, is a preacher; the products people are looking for are enlightenment, holiness and joy in Jesus Christ, and a Christian life.

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Art. 214. Superiors should employ a special concern that the junior candidate Disciples be stationed together in houses of formation especially appointed for them, so that they may be trained and prepared for the Novitiate under the special care of a Master of tried virtue. Likewise, Superiors must not permit that the junior candidate Disciples be scattered in different houses.
Art. 215. Superiors must see that the same be done, and much more so, for the member Disciples in temporary vows, who should never be abandoned to themselves, but rather they must be entrusted to the special care of a spiritual director, in a suitable house, whose duty it shall be to form their minds in the religious life by appropriate counsels, instructions and exhortations. In order, however, that their formation be more aptly provided for, a separate place is to be assigned for them in these houses.
Art. 216. Superiors as well as Masters shall take care that the Disciples be soundly formed in the religious and apostolic life. Hence, according to the plan and method suited to them, they should be carefully instructed in Christian Doctrine, the religious life, the social teachings of the Church, liturgy and Gregorian Chant, Ecclesiastical and Civil History, those things which pertain to a more effective furtherance of the apostolate or technical art and propaganda work, and in other subjects which contribute to human and civic culture, according to the conditions of the times and places. In this matter the norms laid down by the Superior General with his Council or by the General Chapter are to be observed.

Art. 217. Before perpetual Profession the member Disciples must pursue a special course in perfection, in a suitable house, under the guidance of a Master of tried virtue, for at least one full year, according to the norms laid down by the Superior General with his Council or by the General Chapter.
Art. 218. In the houses of this kind, there is to be a Council composed of Priests and Disciples, who exercise some office in respect to the religious, intellectual and technical formation of the Disciples, from whom the Superior may receive light and help, especially when it concerns the admission of members to the Novitiate and Profession.

Distribution centres

By distribution centres we mean actual book centres or stores open to the public. It is from these that there spread rays of light and grace to enlighten and animate people.
Such centres are at the service of the country, the state, the diocese, the parish, associations and communities.
Doctors, lawyers, artists all acquire their clientele because of their skills, their concern, and the way they deal with people.
So, too, the book-seller. He needs to know what is, or should be, in the book centre; the requirements of his clientele; be respectful and welcoming, show an interest in what a person wants, be prompt in serving, and supply what is out of stock, if it can be found.

This is the way to acquire regular clients and to make a good impression on those who pass by occasionally. They will leave, impressed that they have found not a sales assistant but a Religious who understands his mission.

Prerequisites and norms

To open a book centre you need:
1. Personnel who are prepared spiritually and intellectually; people who have taken basic and specialized courses.
2. Sufficient personnel. In any case, if you have only a small staff, start with a smaller distribution centre rather than employ externs.
3. No business! Therefore, in general, the proportion of Pauline published books should be superior to that of other publishers. If this is not so at the beginning, it is to be achieved, step by step, as soon as possible.
The Pauline Family has to strike a balance within the editorial, the technical and the distribution stages. This is to make sure that our apostolate is our preaching, launched with our technical means.
You can always exchange books with other publishers and book centres, provided the books are based on sound principles.
4. A book centre needs to be suitably located and have easy access. There should be sufficient space; the premises attractive and suited more to a peaceful and holy environment than to an outright sales shop. The pictures of the Divine

Master, the Queen of the Apostles and Saint Paul should, in fact, make this obvious.
5. As a general rule have only one Pauline book centre in a city or town. In the cities where the Pious Society of Saint Paul is already present it is up to them to start and manage the book centre; the Daughters of Saint Paul can do so in the other cities.
6. All the book centres are to reduce holy cards, religious objects and vestments to the minimum; they are to buy them from the Pious Disciples, if they stock them.
The Pious Disciples can open liturgical centres excluding, however, what is the right of the Daughters of Saint Paul and of the Pious Society of Saint Paul.
7. To open a centre you need the permission of civil and ecclesiastical authority.
8. The Brother in the book centre must be very pious, virtuous, prudent and generous.
He needs greater spiritual help. He is to have sufficient time for his prayer practices, which are to be made in the house, even if this means reducing the time he spends in the centre.
There is to be a reasonable and frequent rotation of the book centre staff.
9. A great deal of care must be invested in the book centres because, for the people who frequent them, they give a picture of the Congregation. Their judgement on the book centre and its personnel is a judgement on the Institute. That is why there has to be greater responsibility.

Organization

Management and order come under the heading of organization.
The management role is that of the General Centre for Publications and the Superior of the House.
Order concerns the furnishing and type of stock for distribution, the upkeep and decor of the premises.
Stock for the distribution centres are all those enterprises and publications that can contribute directly or indirectly to the apostolate. This requires competency in making choices.
The furnishing of stock requires foresight as regards ordering, time of arrival, opening and checking parcels, recording the books and marking the prices-offering. The best way seems to be to divide books into subject matter. In this case those with the same or similar content can be placed where they are easily accessible.
In big centres these divisions can be in many sections with their various sub-groupings.
In the smaller centres instead the following divisions may be sufficient: Holy Scripture, Theology, Patrology, Preaching, Catechetics, Liturgy, Ascetics, Piety, Lives of the Saints and Biography, Formation, Education, Books for Youth, Light Reading for men, women, boys, girls, and children.

Decor

The upkeep and the decor of the premises are very important. The distribution centres are holy places, just like the

church and the school; therefore there has to be order, cleanliness and a beautiful appearance.
Keep the premises, the shelves and books clean and orderly. Brush, dust and disinfect the bookcases, windows, counters and books.
Window displays should be eye-catching and attract passers-by. People who enter should be able to see at a glance the categories of books according to subject matter, and so find easily what interests them the most.
Books in window displays should be changed regularly, bearing in mind the opportuneness of time and circumstance.
Order, cleanliness and decorum are special requirements of the staff: the administering of the word of God calls for it, as do the dignity of the apostle and the respect and charity for the people who go there.

Knowledge and presentation

A knowledge of books and the environment, as well as how to attract the faithful are requirements for the good running of distribution or book centres.
You need to know the people in the area so as to stock the right titles. This can be done through contact with Church authorities and with the faithful. You need to have a knowledge of books so as to put them in the right place and to give advice about them. This can be done directly by reading them or, indirectly, by reading reviews and book publishers' magazines.

The centre needs to be well stocked in order to attract the faithful.
Required of the manager are competence in recommending choice, ability for capitalizing on opportunities for promotion, such as, window and table displays, sending books for review, home visitation, use of the telephone, direct sales, and so on.
Window displays are to be made in such a way as to attract attention.
Sending books for examination helps to attract the faithful, religious and clergy. So as to reach everyone it is advisable to have lists of addresses of people you want to send books to, and especially of those who want the latest titles. Check on newspapers, magazines, catalogues, books in print and advertisements to keep up to date with all new titles.
Keep particularly in mind such people as friends, acquaintances, cooperators, parish priests and pastors; then such community groups as schools, barracks, institutes, confraternities, hospitals, prisons, offices, clubs, factories…
Promotional letters can be reproduced in series. It helps if they can be personalized and signed by hand. This avoids giving a sales appearance.
Over the counter sales in the centre itself requires tact. The person who approaches the counter should see a skilled person with an apostolic mind.
The manager has to focus first of all on himself: his appearance and bearing, politeness, tact, the way he dresses, and above all, the way he behaves.

Rules of behavior

The principal rules concerning distribution can be reduced to the following:
- When the faithful arrive, avoid superficial questions, such as: May I help you?, What would you like?. Make conversation specific, suited to the individual person, starting with the Christian greeting: Praised be Jesus Christ.
- When the person has told you what he wants, try to help him completely and quickly. If you do not have what he wants, undertake, when possible, to get it at the earliest.
- Always treat everyone, including children, with courtesy and religious charity.
- Keep the offerings-price at a fixed level and don't be inclined to make exceptions. Partiality turns people off.
Administration requires keeping an exact account of income and expenditure, an inventory and a budget.
Prudence and competence are needed in this regard. Don't trust your memory but write everything down in order, methodically and precisely. Observe all the rules required by religious and civil authority and by your own head office.
Practice and circumstances will suggest particular norms in this regard.

Particular rules for the Pauline

Consequently, there has to be in the book centres the subject matter of the apostolate: books dealing with religious topics;

objects of worship and devotion. The Gospel and the Bible must always enjoy a privileged place.
You cannot have anything profane in the book centre. Books that lack all spiritual content and objects that have nothing religious about them lie outside the natural content of our book centres, and could even desecrate them.
Regarding books, then, everyone needs to have a sense of responsibility in giving advice or suggestions. For books where the subject matter is of a delicate nature there is a special need for prudence.
Book centres are to stock those magazines which give an objective judgement on books. Each one should instruct himself as much as possible.

a) The person in the book centre is not the provider of cigarettes for his friends in the community who have no access to money.
b) The person in the book centre is not to give money to confreres; he cannot lend money to people inside or outside. Nor can he give them books.
Is it a good idea to have the mail for the department in your own name? It is generally better if it is anonymous. The person in charge will distribute the mail to the persons concerned, and thus have a global view of everything as well as the state of the book centre.
Is it a good idea to have your personal mail addressed to the centre instead of having it pass through the Superior? It is not a good idea; it is a bad idea.
Lack of trust? No, it is simply a question of elementary religious discipline. Everyone's mail, priests

and brothers, passes through the Superior. Why should yours go another way? It is a question of principle.

The management of the book centre

As a general rule, the book centre income is given to the Superior or to the Bursar every evening, who then puts it with the house's other income.
No one, not even the head of the book centre, is to sign exchange bills [cambiali]. To sign even one is such a serious matter as to merit instant dismissal. Do away also with the use of drafts.
No one in charge of a book centre and no superior can agree to accept warehouse leftovers or even ordinary publications from other publishers. The only competent authority in this regard is the Primo Maestro or the Director of the Publications Office.
When acquiring books from other publishers a distinction is to be made between Catholic and non-Catholic publishers. You can ask Catholic publishers for those books that are requested.
As regards non-Catholic publishers, before complying with the request or accepting the offer, check on the morality and teaching in the book.
Be on your guard against overstocking of books and objects. Today taste changes quickly, today books are coming out one after the other, and today you can get stock so quickly that you do not need to overstock. Let our money

work for us; don't let it rot in warehouses which wipes out the book centre's profit and leads to debt.
Be precise in setting out income and expenditure reports and, every so often, make an inventory of the stock.
The gossiper and the chatterbox, those who criticize their own confreres or people in authority, speak sententiously on politics or the day's news, transform the book centre into a meeting-place.
Nor is the book centre the place to complain about your health or your own personal problems.
There must be secrecy about the book centre. No one must know the daily, monthly or annual income. No externs must know what the losses, or capital, are.
You have to love the book centre and its type of apostolate. However, don't get so caught up in it as to believe you are indispensable or immovable. Take up your role with responsibility but be ready to make way for another, or to change place. You cannot always be in charge and no one says you must always be in a book centre.