What You’ll Find (or Not Find) in a River Ship Library

If your river ship happens to have a library, chances are it will be quite small. In a river ship library, you’ll always find an assortment of books that pertain to the areas in which the ship travels. This will include books about geography of the region, history through the ages, birds spotting, art and culture.Mostly, all the books are in English. You might also find some hard cover and paperback novels that people leave on the ship rather than lug them home.

Sometimes the petite river ship library is located in an open area, near the cruise manager’s desk. On Mississippi and Columbia river paddle wheelers, for example, there might be an entire room dedicated as a library, with comfortable sofas and chairs to relax in while you read.

The new Library on the Queen of the West cruises.
The new Library on the Queen of the West.

Either way, borrowing a book is on the honor system. No secretly placed alarm tags or checking out with bar codes that correspond to your cabin.

Rather than be disappointed with the onboard reading materials, avid readers would be advised to download books to their Kindle, iPad or other device before leaving home.

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