The book boat "Epos" is a floating public library that visits smaller places in the counties of Hordaland and Møre and Romsdal in the winter and a tourist boat in the summer.
The book boat "Epos" is a floating public library that visits smaller places in the counties of Hordaland and Møre and Romsdal in the winter and a tourist boat in the summer. In its time, the boat was the world's largest built in aluminium, and over the years has helped to give local communities in Western Norway a cultural boost.
The boat has an open and modular interior so that it can easily be converted into a book boat in the winter. Because of this, it is therefore very suitable for companies where there is a need for a special table setting. Otherwise, the boat has a kiosk and toilets. There is also a top deck where it is possible to stay to take pictures or enjoy the view.
How do you operate a library service in a country like Norway, where fjords, mountains and valleys separate people from each other? Many people wondered this in the fifties. It was then quickly proposed that a floating library should be created that traveled between all the small villages. But how would this be done, and what would it cost?
It turned out that it was the Swedes who had the answer to this. They had started out with their own book boat in the Swedish archipelago. After a visit by the Swedish state librarian, Sigurd Möhlenbrock, who explained how the operation worked in Sweden, local maritime enthusiasts made sure to get the project started.
Abdulla The first trip to the book boat operation took place in September 1959. The choice of book boat had fallen on the old cutter Abdulla (62 feet) which had previously been an agent boat for sellers who had traveled along the coast to local communities. The book boat was a great success, and after only 1.5 months, 150 villages had already been visited and 7,000 books lent out.
In the years that followed, the boat became more and more popular, and there was a desire to also be able to show films, plays and hold lectures on the boat. It therefore eventually became clear that a larger boat was needed
Fjordguide From the spring of 1962, the 66-foot-long Fjordguide took over the role of cultural fleet. It was now possible to hold lectures and plays and the boat made three trips before a new boat arrived again.
1963: Epos - Book boat, tourist boat and the world's largest aluminum boat
Even before she was built, Epos was intended as a book boat. The plan was for her to run a tourist route for Hardangerr-Sunnhordlanske Dampskipsselskap (HSD) in the summer, and run as a book boat in the winter. She was delivered from Fjellstrand Båtbyggeri at Oma in Hardanger, and was in her time the world's largest aluminum boat.
Ever since she was launched in 1963, Epos has served as a book boat for various villages in the western part of Norway. In her heyday, she went on trips to the three western counties of Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane and Møre og Romsdalen. She was also fitted out in 1985 with expanded library capacity and a larger wheelhouse.
Although much has changed since Epos started the route as a book boat, there is also much that is the same. Today, the boat is no longer the largest in aluminium, but continues the tradition of going as a tourist vessel in the summer, and a book boat in the winter.
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