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Bible in the hotel 
According to the website, The Straight Dope (which answers imponderables and interesting facts of life), this practice originated from the International Bible Society, publisher of bibles. They started placing bibles in hotel rooms in 1823. Another group linked to this is the Gideons International, a Christian organisation. Their agents left behind bibles on reception desks during their work to spread their religion.

On the history page of the International Bible Society here, the society states that they began placing bibles in hotels in 1836.

At the same time, Gideons International’s role was highlighted in following news articles:
- Times Educational Supplement ran a series of questions in 2009 which contained “Which organisation is most famous for placing copies of the Bible in hotel rooms and hospitals?” The answer was the Gideons International.
- Associated Press Newswires also ran an article dated 2009, titled “Gideons celebrate 100 years of Bible distribution” which credited the organisation to the widespread availability of bibles in hotels which started since 1908. Both articles can be found on Factiva, available via NLB eResources.

Gideons International is also mentioned in Columbia Enclyclopaedia 2008, which stated that ”its program of placing Bibles in hotel rooms for use by commercial travelers and others has made the organization internationally known.” Enclyclopaedia Brittanica also confirmed this in the article about Gideons International, whose famous act was placing bibles in hotels since 1908. You can access this via CREDO Reference and Encyclopaedia Britannica on NLB eResources.

Hence, from these sources, it appears that Gideons International is famous for placing bibles in hotel rooms since 1908, though the practice dates further back to 1836, beginning with the International Bible Society.

Other books in the hotel
Today, as the world embraces a greater diversity of religions, some hotels carry the texts of other religions as well. A few news articles between 1995 and 1996 mentioned this. One of them was the N.Y. Times News Service’s article, Gideon Bibles Now Share Hotel Rooms With Other Texts in 1996.

Posted by Ang Mei Jun,

Associate Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

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