Spiritist Books, Bookstores and Libraries

Spiritist Books, Bookstores and Libraries*

 

Marco Milani

  

        What do spiritist bookstores and libraries have in common? Books, of course. However, not every book found in bookstores can be found in libraries, and vice versa. And there’s a very simple reason for this. Bookstores and libraries have their own unique characteristics and must be structured and managed considering these peculiarities.

        In 1869, Allan Kardec proposed a catalog of books related to Spiritism to set up a themed library and recommended about two hundred books from his time, but took care to classify them into three groups: fundamental works, various works, and those outside of Spiritism, including some written by critics. Kardec thus signaled the initial need to know the fundamental works in order to understand the spiritist worldview, and also  proposed books that could contribute to the study of adepts on how certain subjects of interest were treated in related and popular works. Kardec also demonstrated the relevance of reflection on the arguments that the critics used to attack the doctrine. In short, Kardec indicated that the role of the spiritist library was to support the systematic study of Spiritism. This concept remains valid today, highlighting that modern books can also be made available in electronic format, favoring consultation and access to many works.

        Wouldn't the bookstore have the same role of supporting study? Certainly it also has this purpose, adding the fact that, in the eyes of any potential consumer, a spiritist bookstore offers spiritist books! It’s almost redundant to explore this point, but unfortunately we come up against something very serious and that has been harming the very proposal of doctrinal dissemination in some spiritist centers, which is the unfortunate assumption that the reader should read everything and it is up to him to separate the wheat from the chaff, i.e., to identify what is coherent or not with the doctrine... But if it’s a beginner reader or one with little doctrinal knowledge, how will they be able to do that? And it’s no use asking the salesperson if the book is good, interesting, etc., as it would be bad for the bookstore's image if the attendant said that this or that book is not suitable, despite being offered to the public. For the consumer, if the book is on display in a spiritist bookstore, it is because, logically, it deals with the spiritist theme and has gone through some selection criteria. In other words, potential users, especially beginners, trust the services and selection criteria of the spiritist center's bookstore.

        On the other hand, commercial appeal has made many bookstore managers prioritize the number of titles sold and not their respective quality offered. No one doubts that the bookstore can be an important source of revenue for the spiritist institution. But does it justify the absence of doctrinal criteria for making some work available to the reader? It is assumed that someone who buys a book wants to spend their money on something useful and not to end up with a book that does not meet their expectations. The problem is greater when the reader fails to perceive the conceptual inconsistency that he may be a victim in his readings...

        A relevant comparison is the following: what mother, purposely, would offer contaminated food to her children? So then, what spiritist leader, aware of his responsibilities, would offer books with doctrinal inconsistencies to the public of his bookstore? It is a relationship of trust and common sense.

 

Reference

Kardec, Allan. Catálogo racional para se fundar uma biblioteca espírita. São Paulo: Madras, 2004.

 

* Text originally published in the newspaper Correio Fraterno, edition 448, p.11, under the title "Does the beginner reader know how to discern what a good book is?"