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Voyage to Book Island sets sail

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Daniel Phelps
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Children and parents alike try to keep busy now that school is out for the summer.

One option to stay busy is at Shaw's McElveen Library. The library is kicking off a Department of Defense wide summer reading program, Voyage to Book Island.

While installation libraries have sponsored their own programs in the past, "Voyage to Book Island" marks the first DoD wide program, said Nilya Carrato, program assistant for the Navy General Library Program. This will allow for military children who move this summer to pick up the program where they left off at their new installation.

More than 250 libraries across the DoD are participating in the program, and have tailored it to their environment, said Sarah Sloan, Shaw library director.

The program will last from June 21 to July 30, with registration from June 21 to June 25.

"The program is for the kids, when they're out of school to help keep their minds active," said John West, 20th Force Support Squadron. "It also helps the kids when they have a deployed parent, to take their mind off of missing them."

"The purpose of the program is to encourage the youth and teen population of Shaw to continue reading even though it is the summer and that's our vacation time," said Tammie Collier, 20th Force Support Squadron library children and teen program coordinator. "We want to make reading fun by incorporating fun activities to encourage them."

Reading should be done during the summer, because when these skills are not used, they are lost, she added.

The program is designed for children between pre-school and 12th grade, explained Collier. Activities such as story time, movie days and crafts will take place four days a week.

Putting the program together here was big group effort with help from Collier, Maj. Robin Newton, Chief Master Sgt. Jacqueline Dean and Dr. Patsy Johnson, 20th FSS, said Mrs. Sloan.

"I love the program," said Collier. "The reason I am working in this field is because it covers two of my passions: children and books. So, putting both of them together is a dream for me."

It began about seven years ago because public libraries have programs like this, she added. This allows the military children to better relate to non-military children.

One of the ways they are planning on encouraging reading is by having the children compete to see who can read the most during the summer, said Collier. They will be divided into seven teams according to grade level: pre-school and kindergarten, first and second grade, third and fourth grade, and so on up to twelfth grade.

Every Friday, participants will bring in their reading logs and see how many minutes and books they have read, continued Collier. At the end of the summer, prizes will be awarded to the team and individuals who have read the most.

Last year there were 40,287 total minutes read, 10,000 books read and 125 participants, said Collier. This year they are setting a goal for 75,000 minutes, 20,000 books and 200 participants.

The children are also very excited about this program.

"I look forward to at least improving my grades a little bit and wishing for my Dad to come home safe and sound," said Olivia Robinson, daughter of Bethany Robinson.

Another thing the library is hoping for this year is more participation from adults, she added. Volunteers help oversee crafts, registration and help out with games and reading stories.

Those interested in volunteering can come by the library and fill out an application.