Spreading Literature With A Floating Library

This week we came across an article about a rather unusual library. We're familiar with mobile libraries which are housed in buses, but we hadn't come across a floating library before! And certainly not one which is so well stocked!

Sweden has a floating library — the bokbåten — that brings thousands of books to people on dozens of remote islands in the Stockholm archipelago twice a year. Every spring and autumn since 1953, the Stockholm Library Service rents a boat for a week, loads it full of books, and sets sail for about 23 inhabited islands. When the boat docks, residents climb aboard to return the books which they borrowed during the last visit and check out the library's newest offerings. This can take a while as the boat can hold about 3,000 books! The bokbåten is looked after by three or four volunteer librarians who take turns working on the ship. In 2018, a woman named Maria Anderhagen took over managing the bokbåten. Partially due to her love of books, and partially due to the fact that she owns an enormous cellar and so she could store all the books in between voyages. What a fantastic initiative! You can read more about the bokbåten here. Do you also have an unusual library which you like to visit? Tell us about it in the comments below!

---

 Jane Austen News is our weekly compilation of stories about or related to Austen. Here we will feature a variety of items, including craft tutorials, reviews, news stories, articles and photos from around the world.