This Floating Library Is the Ultimate Bookmobile

There are hundreds of islands in the archipelago around Stockholm, Sweden. Many of them are inhabited. To provide library services to them, the bokbåten makes its rounds.

This floating library has been sailing since 1953. Library patrons can board the ship, browse the collection of about 3,000 books, and check out their selections. Literary Hub reports:

The Stockholm county library boat (or bokbåten), visits 23 islands, including Möja, in the Stockholm archipelago, for one week twice a year. It carries around 3,000 books and a rotating staff of three to four librarians.

When it docks, island residents have about one-and-a-half glorious hours to come aboard the motor ship, browse its treasures, and borrow anything they’d like. Each island has one library card and, in a delightful detail, there are no penalties if a book isn’t returned six months later.

-via Super Punch | Photos: Anjie Zheng

That's cool! Back when I was a kid, we had a bookmobile that would come in to our very rural school at least once a month. The bookmobile was turned into a stationary library on school property. It served the community for years until a library was built just down the road from the school.

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This article discusses the Swedish book boat program, as does the link Literary Hub's article about its uncertain future.However, the provided link bokbåten sends us to the Norwegian program. There is a difference. https://bokbaten.no/information-in-english/
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/book-boats/