It's a new era in publishing. The Christian Science Publishing House is being renovated and restored to serve the publishing activities of The Mother Church in the beginning years of a new millennium.
The need for restoration and renewal of the Publishing House has become apparent as functions and equipment needs in publishing have changed rapidly over the last few years. Visitors and workers in the building in years past may remember the smell of printer's ink. The rolls of paper. Linotype machines. A composing room. The bindery. These integral parts of the Publishing House are gone now in ... the era of computer-based publishing. Today, The Christian Science Publishing Society no longer maintains its own printing presses. The last four-color press has been sold. It's more efficient to establish a direct computer connection with printing presses outside of Boston and closer to subscribers.
In this era of rapid change in publishing, The Mother Church is responding. Just as Mary Baker Eddy made provision for the periodicals to be "kept abreast of the times," See Manual of The Mother Church, Art. VIII, Sect. 14the support systems and facilities for doing so must be abreast of the times. So, the Publishing House is closed for the first time in sixty-six years, and selective demolition work is underway in the first phase of restoration and renewal. Thousands of yards of wires, pipes, cables, and ductwork are being disconnected and removed to make way for new infrastructure systems that will link our buildings in order to provide improved communications and work environments.
