Or does the local heritage society who published this book have a bank account? Then it would at least not be someone's personal details.

I see that Paypal has just paid a huge fine for getting up to some dodgy dealing or other, so I would be wary of using them. I don't anyway, because they're a prime target for scammers. I get loads of fake "Paypal" spam in my inbox, which looks so genuine that I'd be scared of not being able to tell the difference. Only way I know it's phony is that I don't have a Paypal account.