Gute Bücher für Alle ( en, Good Books for All) is a German

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

, based in

Mosbach Mosbach (; South Franconian: ''Mossbach'') is a town in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the seat of the Neckar-Odenwald district and has a population of approximately 25,000 distributed in six boroughs: Mosbach Town, Lohrbach, N ...

, which operates floating

bookshop Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...

s. It is best known as the operator of such vessels, currently deploying the MV ''Logos Hope'' in service of the organization's goals. For 32 years (1977-2009) it was the owner of the MV ''Doulos'', which until being sold to a

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

an firm in 2010 held the record as the world's oldest active

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

-faring

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

(having been built in 1914, and being employed continually until 2009). The organization maintains that over the years, more than 150 countries and territories have welcomed the ships in its service, and that these have made over 1400 ports of call. Its

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

states that "More than 10 million children have visited the ships and experienced the unique environment on board for themselves", that "Around 10,000 young people have been trained on board for future life and service", and that "Hundreds of tonnes of books have been donated". The website provides live links to

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...

s aboard the ''Logos Hope'', its scheduled itinerary, and updates concerning its various ports of call; it also has links to information about the organization, its objectives, the histories of both Gute Bücher für Alle and of the ships it has employed since 1970, and news and media resources concerning Gute Bücher für Alle's activities. The crews of the ships employed by Gute Bücher für Alle include staff known as "challenge teams"; according to the website, these "Teams go from the ship into surrounding areas to visit hospitals, schools, orphanages or prisons, supply aid and provide community care. In each port, the ship's crew and staff partner with community groups to bring hope and show love to people whatever their circumstance, culture or background." It is also maintained on the Gute Bücher für Alle site that "On average, one million visitors have been welcomed on board one of our ships every year! The floating book fair offers over 5,000 titles, providing many visitors their first-ever opportunity to purchase quality literature." The crew of the only vessel currently in use, the ''Logos Hope'', reportedly numbers about 400 and includes members of 45 or more nationalities (as of mid-2012); the crew and staff typically volunteer in the organization and live on board for two years. The ship remains in each port of call for about two weeks and "...opens the gangways to hundreds and sometimes thousands of visitors each day."

References

External links

GBA Ships
Charities based in Germany Book fairs in Germany Non-profit organisations based in Baden-Württemberg {{charity-org-stub