MILITARY LIFE
Bricks & Clicks
Libraries are more than places to check out books or to read the latest edition of your favorite magazine. Library programs build a sense of community by offering multicultural activities, children's programs, teen reading clubs, poetry groups, community education, and special events. Collections include a well-stocked assortment of professional and leisure reading materials; college preparation and academic research materials; and multimedia materials such as movies, books-on-tape and music. Study rooms offer a quiet refuge, and computer labs provide free email and Internet access. Library services extend beyond the brick and mortar facilities and into the realm of globally accessible online services. "Bricks and Clicks" offers an online General Library Card Catalog and a Google-like multimedia search engine that provides access to databases such as Proquest, elibrary, and HeritageQuest, where patrons can find the latest editions of a hometown newspaper, television and radio transcripts, audio/video files, or even research their family genealogy.
MCCS General Library programs are currently meeting 99 percent of DoD Core Library Standards. Fifteen of sixteen libraries comply with DoD standards, and Camp Foster achieved Premier Library status in 2004. In FY06, MCCS General Libraries received nearly 2 million visits. Online database usage and computer sessions exceeded 700,000 and 500,000, respectively. The General Library program also extends library support to deployed units, Marine Security Guard Detachments, ships, hospitals, and air terminals by providing paperbacks, popular magazines, professional Marine Corps magazines, Professional Reading List books, and online resources.