USAG Alaska, Wainwright  Morale, Welfare and Recreation

Get to know the Army general libraries. You will find something for soldiers and families in all locations and military stages. There are 70 libraries across seven countries with physical collections in all formats. They support professional, educational and recreational reading.

Installation libraries play an important role for soldiers. They offer technical publications to support job requirements. They also support career development. Soldiers can earn college degrees and certifications. They can update promotion packages. They can also prepare for transition or retirement and more. Computers are available for completing training or personal education.

These libraries are a “community couch” with programming, study and meeting spaces. There is something for everyone. Programs can include book clubs, story times and walks, game and movie nights. A themed summer reading program provides family fun. Evening and weekend hours accommodate busy schedules.

Makerspaces are now available in many Army libraries. All ages can explore and enjoy Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics, or STEAM.

Soldiers who are deployed or in a remote location can use the Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation Library Online. It offers a wide variety of electronic databases and downloadable content. Contact your installation library for questions about registration. If you’re not near an installation library, contact usarmy.mwr.library@mail.mil. Other eligible Army MWR Library users can enjoy online access too.

All Department of Defense service members and their families can also use the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Digital Library. It has a wide range of resources for children and adults. Look for free tutoring, finance and language classes. You’ll find career transition assistance, car care advice, legal forms and more. Here is a sample of programs:

• Academic OneFile has millions of articles from scholarly journals and other authoritative sources. It has extensive coverage in key subject areas. They include science, criminal justice, economics, history and marketing.
• Ancestry® Library unlocks family stories through billions of U.S. and international records.
• BookFlix pairs classic video storybooks with related nonfiction titles. That reinforces early reading skills and builds real-world knowledge.
• Business Plan Builder helps aspiring entrepreneurs and those who want to grow small businesses or nonprofits. Its step-by-step process and recognized tools help users complete business plans and other key documents.
• Career Transitions helps users map their military experience to civilian jobs, write a resume and cover letter, practice interviewing, find job announcements and more.
• Chilton Automotive Maintenance Library provides information for tackling vehicle maintenance and repairs with confidence. It covers thousands of year, make and model combinations. That includes the most popular vehicles of the past 30 years.
• EBSCO LearningExpress provides eLearning tutorials, practice tests, eBooks, flashcards and articles. They help users build skills in a range of core subjects for success in the classroom, on the job and in life. This includes test preparation.
• Explora Primary has a database of fun, colorful resources. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade can study animals, music, health and history. They can learn about people and places, science, math and sports.
• Legal Forms offers a wide selection of state and state-specific legal forms. Users can draft specialized documents in many legal subject areas. They include premarital agreements, bankruptcy, divorce, landlord/tenant and much more. There is also a comprehensive attorney state directory and dictionary of legal definitions.
• Mango Languages is a digital language-learning program for learners of all levels. It has courses in more than 70 different foreign languages. There are 21 English language courses and 44 specialty courses. Mango simulates the way people learn a language through everyday conversation.
• Morningstar Investment Research Center has information on stocks and mutual funds. Visit the Investment Classroom to hone investing skills and explore dozens of articles and videos about the stock market.
• National Geographic Virtual Library has every article of National Geographic magazine from 1888 through 1994. Search vivid photographs and historic articles.
• Stingray Qello Concerts streams the world’s largest collection of full-length concerts and music documentaries on-demand to just about any digital device. From the 1920s to today's hottest artists, Qello Concerts spans more than 30 genres, from classical to rock, reggae to country. Enjoy more than 1,700 live moments in music history.
• Tutor.com for military children gives kids free access to online tutoring and homework help. Expert tutors provide support with more than 16 subjects. Tutors can help with tonight’s homework or catch children up on missed concepts and lessons.
• Universal Class offers more than 500 lifelong learning courses in more than 30 subject areas. Many offer continuing education units. Professional instructors design and lead them to build deeper understanding and mastery. There are videos, assignments, quizzes, tests and options for social media interaction. Students can take multiple classes and learn at their own pace.
• U.S. Major Dailies provides full-text, same-day access to five major U.S. newspapers: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Content updates by 8 a.m., Eastern time each day.
• Weiss Financial Ratings offers access to financial literacy tools on retirement planning, home and mortgage, insurance strategies, and saving for your child’s education.

Learn more about the MWR Digital Library at Military OneSource. See what it can do for you and your family today.

Facility Overview

The Library supports special, recreational, professional and academic interests. Wireless internet, computers, audio books, DVDs, video games and music are available.

Programming

Story Time and Crafts -- Story Time and Crafts are offered every Friday at 4:00 p.m. Kids are sure to have a great time with fun books and creative projects.

Our Heroes' Tree -- Our Heroes' Tree is a life-size 8 foot tall tree honoring our past and present servicemen and women with ornament-making and story-writing. Come in with a picture of your hero to create an ornament or pick out a picture of one of our Ft. Wainwright Soldiers to create a special ornament for him or her and, write a little something to show you care.

Monthly Events and displays vary, so check the Library or call 907-353-4137 for more information on programming like Thor Art Thursdays (all ages), Baby & Me (parents with children 0-24 mo.), and Bilingual Story Hour.

Computer Area

Need a place to do research, write reports, keep in touch with family or surf the Internet? The library has 13 PCs available; each computer has high-speed Internet access, MS Office and printing capability (15 pages max.). Or if you prefer to bring your own laptop you can connect to our WiFi in the lounge area. We also have a document scanner available.

Library Materials

Books -- Check out new bestsellers in Adult, Young Adult and Children's fiction and non-fiction! We also have a special Alaskana collection which is available for checkout. If a book you are looking for is not on hand the staff can request the item from another library or add it to their next order.

DVDs -- An assortment of almost 3000 movies and TV series are available for a one-week loan period.

Video Games -- The library is pleased to announce a new video game collection! We have new releases in Xbox360, PS2, PS3, Wii and Nintendo DS formats. Games are available for a one-week loan period.

Audio Books & Music CDs -- We have over 350 audio book titles in CD, CD-MP3 and Playaway formats that are available for checkout. We have over 1000 music CDs including the most recent Grammy Award winners and new releases that are available for your listening pleasure.

Periodicals -- If you want to keep up with current events the library is the place for you. We have over 100 magazine and newspaper subscriptions; both current and back issues are available for check out.

Copy Services

A copy machine is available to patrons for up to 10 single free copies.

SLED

The Statewide Library Electronic Doorway, is a public service providing easy and equitable access to electronic information. By logging onto their website, patrons are granted access to the free reference database - please contact the library for the passwords (907-353-2642).