Yes, it would, if we had one here!! Town is less than 2,000, of which perhaps 200 - 240 are Catholics. We do have a very small Catholic gift shop with Rosaries, statues and tracts and prayer cards, medals. However, the original Church is a documented Historical Site, and is also a tourist attraction. The Gift Shop is in the basement of the Church, and very small. No more that 1/2 doz. or so books, most of them of the more popular works, such as “Diary of a Soul” by St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Yes, they can order books, but are closed after Thanksgiving except on weekends, then close just prior to Christmas and do not re-open until the tourists come back with warmer weather. So, I get my books from Barnes & Noble. If I finish a book, and it’s not one I am going to read over & over again, I donate it to our Parish Library, which is also just one small room. Even the city nearest me has only a couple of Catholic Gift Shops which carry books, and they aren’t easy to get to through the traffic.
That’s why I use Barnes & Noble. The Catholic Publishers still get the income from publishing the books, and I don’t have to fight traffic or wait a couple of months to get a book.
If you live in a city and can drive in the traffic, and have a Catholic bookstore, you are blessed! I’m in my 70’s, go to the nearby city perhaps twice a year (really don’t like all that traffic), so I order online from B&N. The only online Catholic Publisher/Bookstore I order from is Ave Maria Press. If they have something in stock, I order from them and pay the shipping fees. Otherwise, I get all my Catholic Books via Barnes & Noble on my trips a couple times a year. Keeps me in books through the icy winters here, and then through the summer tourist crowds so I don’t have to take a chance driving in heavy traffic. I go in Spring and late Fall each year.
