Objective:

This article aims to analyze the circulation of books in Paraguay and Rio de la Plata during the middle of the 18th century. For this, the chosen case relates with two Jesuit procurators' travel to Europe during the 1750s, who arranged a shipment to the region with almost 8 000 books.

Methodology:

From the perspective of the history of the book, the study uses original documents from the procurators' offices of the Jesuit province of Paraguay, classifies the subjects acquired and tracks the circulation of the volumes -from their purchase in Europe to their distribution in South America-.

Originality:

The case has not been analyzed until today and the historiography has not explored how the books reached this region.

Conclusions:

The Jesuit procurators capitalized on the institutional advantages they had and played a key role in the entry of books in the region, even supplying to non-members of the religious order and privileging a spiritual and a edifying literature useful for influencing the daily devotional practices.