LIBRARIES : SOCIAL ISSUES: Libraries Remain Centerpieces of Morale, Welfare Programs

[David P. Dillard]

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LIBRARIES :

SOCIAL ISSUES:

Libraries Remain Centerpieces of Morale, Welfare Programs

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Libraries Remain Centerpieces of Morale, Welfare Programs

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

United States. Department of Defense

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=120721

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2013 During World War I, troops deployed to Europe
found they wanted more than just the beans and bullets the military
logistics effort provided. The American Library Association stepped in,
delivering books and magazines paid for through the war bond program to
entertain and give them a slice of home.

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The associations war service committee raised a whopping $5 million in
public donations, distributing more than 7 million books and magazines,
erecting 36 camp libraries and providing library collections to over 500
sites, including military hospitals.

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In the process, it laid the foundation for the Defense Departments first
and longest-running morale, welfare and recreation program.

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The Navy established the first official military library program in 1919,
Nellie Moffitt, the Navys general library program manager, told American
Forces Press Service. The Army followed with its own program in 1920, and
the Air Force quickly stood up its own library program when it was
established as a separate service in 1947.

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By World War II, the service library programs had developed an incredible
operation, Moffitt said. The Navy alone had 275 permanent libraries ashore
and 961 afloat, as well as 281 extension services in remote sites.

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Historically, reading has been an integral part of the morale effort
across DOD, she said. That remains as true today as at any time in
history.

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Most major military installation house a library, and the Navy outfits
every new ship with a library while providing library services aboard
every ship in the fleet.

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And just as troops have enjoyed library services while deployed to every
conflict since World War I, MWR officials take pains to provide those same
services in Afghanistan, even at the most remote forward operating bases.
The Army set up formalized library programs at the largest bases in
Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Air Force maintains seven learning resource
centers across the U.S. Central Command region, Moffitt said.

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While books and magazines remain popular, military libraries have stayed
current with evolving technology. Through the years, military libraries
have offered cassette tapes, phonograph records, compact disks and DVDs.
Downloadable audio books were introduced in 2005, and e-books in 2007.

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We are no different than any other industry. If we dont keep up with the
times and what our customers want, we wont be around very long, Moffitt
said.

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Stop by any installation library, and its clear that hasnt happened.
Statistics show usage at the brick-and-mortar libraries has remained
strong, and even experienced a slight increase, Moffitt said. Meanwhile,
use of downloadable audio books, e-books and online databases has
skyrocketed.

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Last year alone, the services spent $12 million for digital library
materials, Moffitt reported. Based on usage statics, those funds provided
$725 million in materials and services.

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Thats a huge return on investment, $60 in value for every dollar spent,
Moffitt said.

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That savings, and the fact that many military members who live on base
arent entitled to use most local public libraries, makes installation
libraries magnets for many service members and their families.

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A lot of different people use libraries for a lot of different reasons,
Moffitt said. Some people may be coming into the libraries to enjoy the
actual books and programs offered, including storytelling sessions for
military children and popular summer reading programs.

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Others seek out references on everything from weight loss or auto repairs
to recorded music and audio books, all provided to users at no cost.

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But an awful lot of military members are using our materials for
professional reading and their professional military education, Moffitt
said.

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Military members and their families tap their libraries to get
transitional assistance, bone up on details about spouse employment and
tuition assistance, and prepare for standardized tests, she said.

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Online test preparation services are among the most popular offerings at
many military libraries. Some use these programs to increase their Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery scores so they can change their
military career fields, Moffitt said. Others use them to prepare for the
GRE, SAT and other standardized college boards.

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Based on the appetite, DOD invested more than a half-million dollars in
digital test preparation services in 2012, Moffitt reported. This
educational portal collectively saved library users more than $10 million
in out-of-pocket costs, including $19 or $20 they would have paid for
every practice test, she noted. But the true value of the library
programs, officials agree, is their link to troops mental and emotional
fitness and resilience.

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People get their energy and bounce back from problems in many different
ways, Moffitt said. Some kayak or run triathlons. But others prefer to
read a mystery novel and absolutely fade away, or listen to music they can
get through the library by borrowing a CD. I believe the library program
is an integral part of wellness and overall wellbeing, and that
contributes to readiness.

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Air Force Col. Thomas Joyce, services director at the Air Force Personnel
Center, agrees. When Air Force officials evaluated their MWR programs to
identify the core activities that most directly impact readiness,
libraries ranked among the top six.

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This is one of the hidden gems that dont get talked about much, but that
are a huge contributor to life-long learning and overall resilience, he
said.

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Libraries have long been one of our most forward thinking, professionally
oriented programs, noted Ed Miles, DODs morale, welfare and recreation
policy director. From installation level to headquarters staff, taking
care of library customers has always been at the forefront of everything
they do.

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That is evidenced in the high usage and outstanding customer satisfaction
ratings we see in MWR customer service surveys year in and year out, Miles
said. They always get high marks.

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Yet with budget cuts striking across the board and taking a big chunk out
of many MWR programs, officials recognize that libraries arent immune.

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Like everybody else, we are going to have to take cuts, whether that is in
hours, staffing or our materials budgets, Moffitt said. We know we are
going to be taking cuts, but we will try to minimize the impact on the
customer and if at all possible, try to maintain the services we provide.

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The service libraries have pooled their resources for decades to maximize
what they can provide.

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We are a very cooperative program, Moffitt said. A joint MWR library forum
established in 1996 sets standards for all military libraries and policies
to improve efficiencies. Five years ago, the services stood up a joint
purchasing program so they could purchase digital databases together and
share them among all their users.

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We try to do things jointly so we can be more efficient and more
effective, Moffitt said. If somebody has a great idea, we will borrow it.

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Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., for example, runs DODs only
bookmobile, purchased with profits from the base recycling center to
better serve Marines and their families. Marine Corps Air Station Cherry
Point, N.C., plans to roll out an experimental library that does away with
the Dewey decimal classification system and is organized like a retail
bookstore.

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Meanwhile, the military library programs continue to operate as they
always have quietly rolling out incremental improvements to better serve
their customers, Moffitt said.

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Those are services she said shes confident will continue, regardless of
what new budget challenges libraries face. Just because you dont have a
lot of money doesnt mean you cant do a stellar job, she said. Military
libraries stand as a testament to that.

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Related Sites:


Army MWR

http://www.armymwr.com/


Navy MWR

http://navymwr.org/


Air Force Services

https://www.usafservices.com/


Marine Corps Community Services

http://www.usmc-mccs.org/


Military OneSource

http://www.militaryonesource.mil/mwr

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