EDITORIAL CCS - CCS PUBLISHERS, MADRID

CCS Publishers Madrid has a long history whose beginnings go back to the final years of the Second World War when the then Rector Major, Fr Peter Ricaldone, opened the 'Casa del Boletín Salesiano' in Madrid.
It was 31 January 1944 when the 'Casa del Boletín Salesiano' and the first two Salesians set up shop at Calle de Alcalá, no, 164 in Madrid. One of them, Fr Miguel Riera, was the Director in charge. The first name given to this enterprise was the Sociedad Editora Ibérica (SEI) which lasted until 23 October 1958. From 27 July 1964 it was called Central Catequística Salesiana (CCS) and obtained a licence to “published and sell books, disks, slides, medals, rosaries”. In 1974 the Iberian Provincial Conference asked the Rector Major to hand over responsibility for the Publisher to the Spanish provinces. However for the moment it seemed more convenient that it continue to be tied to the General Council. It was in 1993, the Rector Major being Fr Egidio Viganò. When the property of CCS passed to the Iberian Conference. Currently, the official name is Editorial CCS, or CCS Publishers in English.

Mission

In the beginning the intention of the new publishing house was "publication of school and religious books, especially for catechetics". As well as the "Boletín Salesiano" other publications were added: Texts, teaching aids for catechetics, pedagogical texts, history books, Christian teaching and books on Salesian topics. In 1957 the production and dissemination of books grew and publication began of religious and formation audiovisual materials, and the well-remembered slides which made the Central Catequística Salesiana so famous.

Since 1994 Editorial CCS became an autonomous work, independent of other activities in the Casa Don Bosco at 164 Alcalá street. The entrance was moved to no. 166 in the same street. Beginning from this year the Publishers gained new impulse through a major business reorganisation, more adequate structures and qualified personnel, focusing on book production. Since then there has been a gradual increase in new production finally arriving at more than 100 titles a year. Last year, 2012 new titles under the heading of education and social intervention reached 52 and catechetical ministry, 64. Reprints have also exceeded 100 titles. Production has expanded considerably, especially in the education field and topics of social interest, keeping what was already being done especially with regard to catechetics and ministry. Today the Publishers have two separate catalogues, one referring to education and social questions, and the other for religious formation such as catechetics, liturgy, ministry, Salesianity. There is also an active web page, www.editorialccs.com, recently established and which is growing in number of visits. The entire range can be found there and is available to clients: new titles, projected new titles, news, book and author of the month, a blog and the possibility of buying online.
We are aware that both categories, catechetics-ministry and education-social intervention offer various challenges in our Church and in society today: Adapting to new times, pedagogies and lifestyles, teaching or the faith and personal values. The fact that there is collaboration with Salesians and educators, teachers and catechists who are actually experiencing youthful settings first hand, means that book production is right up-to-date and ready for practical application. This fact is much appreciated. The Publishers has seen that everything that is made available for Salesian communities and the public is immediately useful and comes out of experience in the world of children and older youth. It is quite a challenge that we are aware of and which we constantly try to tackle, seeking the collaboration of Salesians and the entire Salesian Family as well as of catechists and teachers of the faith who are a point of reference today in our local church and in academic settings.

DIFFERENT CONTRIBUTIONS

Historically speaking, audiovisuals gave prestige to CCS In Spain and Latin America. It pioneered the introduction of slides and audiovisuals in catechetics. But it is a publishing line that for the moment has been abandoned for various reasons. Currently we publish books, journals and other materials to satisfy the needs of educators, pastoral workers and socio-cultural leaders; at the same time we offer materials for University students and teachers at pre-school, primary and secondary levels. The most significant contribution of CCS is in social intervention and animation/leadership for free time. Various series focus on these topics: School leadership, games, workshops, theatre, education of youth and to social action, social interventions etc.

The Central Catequística Salesiana currently published the Misón Joven magazine, founded in 1960 under the title Técnica de Apostolado, and it continues to offer interesting reflections on Youth Ministry. Catequistas began in 1985, dedication to catechist formation as well as formation of leaders of faith groups and parents- It has published the Juventud Misionera magazine, founded in 1926, for a number of years, whose aim is to educate teenagers to solidarity. Now it comes under the Madrid Mission Office. We need to add Cuadernos de Formación Permanente, founded in 1983, with articles for formation of religious and Salesian communities, Tiempos Litúrgicos, for children from 8 to 12 years of age so they can experience Advent and Lent better..
We can also point out the yearly diaries or calendars that are clearly confessional in nature; these aim to reach particular roles: catechists, through the Agenda del Catequista; children and teenagers, Agenda de Primaria y Secundaria; teachers, Agenda de la educación and the Agenda de bolsillo.
CCS publishes, administers and also distributes the Boletín Salesiano whose subscribers are currently at 69,000 for the monthly edition. There are some small-scale audiovisual productions, for example the film on Don Bosco.
CCS tries to achieve an animation/educator style inspired by Salesian pedagogy that aims to engage young people and make them active players in their own complete education. Editorial policy is summed up in the motto: "useful books, practical materials". This is why we publish educational, pastoral and catechetical materials that have already been experienced- Therefore our clients contact us knowing we offer practical materials applicable in the classroom and in the various pastoral and educational interventions with guaranteed results. Theatre works are another proud product of CSS Following tradition abundant material in this area has been published in recent years. Three theatre collections are available: One focusing on catechetics, another on school and third is theatre properly speaking.
On the other hand, we have always tried to involve the Salesian communities so they could see the imprint of our charism in the production of varied CCS materials. This is a support for ongoing formation of members and provides appropriate material for their pastoral and educational work in schools, parishes and leisure activities. This objective requires, simultaneously, a continuous work of animation by provincials and leaders of the various Provincial areas so that the materials offered are known and used; books, brochures and magazines.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROJECTS

Without doubt the first great success of Editorial CCS was, for many decades, the collections of slides distributed throughout Spain and Latin America, some adapted from the original Italian and others produced here, like for example the series on Educación para el amor.
In collaboration with the Centro Nacional de Pastoral juvenil there was another great publishing success with collections like Ala y Viento and Documentación y Servicio. Currently this latter collaboration continues with some interesting publishing results, highlighting, amongst others, Itinerario de Educación en la fe.
The work exclusively of the Publishers and totally original was Plan de Formación de Animadores. More recently there have been series such as Catequesis Familiar, Intervención Social Orientación, Educación y Terapia Familiar, Valorandia, "dultos en Formación, which continue to bring prestige to CCS. Here too we can highlight series like: Materiales para Educadores, Celebrar y Orar, Recursos de Pastoral, Don Bosco, Educar, Campus, Escena y Fiesta and finally, Sal y Luz.

MANAGEMENT

The Publisher is the property of the Salesian Provinces of Spain The management and administration are entrusted to a Salesian, an expert in the field of social communication and publication, assisted by three other confreres dealing with education, pastoral care and other work respectively. All the other members of staff are lay people Editorial CCS like all businesses, has an Administration Council, and a Board of Directors and an Editorial Team. We do not have our printing press
We also market holy pictures, postcards, posters, pendants and booklets of Salesian images In preparation for the Bicentenary of Don Bosco's birth (1815-2015) we have launched a range of gift items with an image of the Saint. These have been well accepted in the Salesian world and have helped create a good climate in places where the Don Bosco Casket went during its visit to many of the Salesian works in Spain.
Marketing channels are developed through distributors and book stores. We are present in Spain and Latin America CCS is an established company that is well maintained in its field, with prestige in the field of education and pastoral work-ministry, especially with its magazines.
Projects of interest we have worked on lately have been the translation of the Dictionary of Education, in its new edition, published by the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome, and especially books about Don Bosco, his spirituality and pedagogy to get to know it better in preparation for the Bicentenary, noting, in particular, the three volumes of A. Lenti, Don Bosco: Historia y Carisma, a work which has been very well accepted in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries
The needs of the market today and the short duration of a book require continuous innovation and competitive pricing, things not always possible to combine. It is obvious that we must focus on quality and expertise in a few areas, leaving aside other fields. Besides, some ministry areas are constantly altering their approach. This obviously has an affect on our publications. But we still maintain the strength of our "publishing brand" in the domestic market, and strengthen as much as possible our sales network, trying to stay ahead. At the same time we would like to broaden our presence in Spanish-speaking areas of Latin America.