USAG Alaska, Wainwright  Morale, Welfare and Recreation

The Army General Library Program supports the quality of life and well-being of soldiers and their families by providing resources and programs to meet diverse needs. The Headquarters Library Program extends services to soldiers in remote areas through the distribution of paperback books and audiobooks. Fifty-eight main libraries and 15 branch libraries provide physical collections in all formats, which support professional reading, educational and recreational pursuits. An enterprise library system and online resources provide remote access to additional information regardless of where soldiers and family members are.

The Army's general libraries are key to the professional lives of soldiers. Collections in support of professional reading, pursuit of a college education, and preparation for retirement or transitioning from the military are provided at the Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation Library. Practice College Level Examination Preparation, or CLEP, and Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support, or DANTES, tests are available and in demand. Computers are also available for soldiers to use to complete required training or for personal educational pursuits.

The Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation Library is the "community couch" with programming, quiet study spaces, meeting spaces and collaborative spaces. There is something for everyone. The staff at installation libraries offer programs such as book clubs, story times, game nights, movie nights, book displays, story walks, author readings and more. A themed summer reading program for children provides fun and activities for the entire family. Evening and weekends hours are available to accommodate busy schedules.

The Headquarters Library Program licenses online resources providing academic research, professional reading material, magazines, newspapers, eBooks, audiobooks and children's books that are available anywhere, anytime after registering at your local library. Online homework tutoring is provided 24/7 through Tutor.com for students K-12 on subjects such as writing, mathematics through calculus, science and history. Your Army Virtual Library also supports cultural awareness and overseas families with Mango Languages, an online foreign language program, and CultureGrams, a resource introducing soldiers and family members to new cultures. Visit your Army Virtual Library, log in at My Account and go to the eResources/Research tab for 24/7 access.

Your Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation Library has books, DVDs, and magazines for checkout; a book-swap shelf; and an online library allowing registered users to download books, DVDs and magazines for tablets or smartphones. Users are encouraged to suggest specific titles if they are not available either on the shelf or in the online library. Special programs such as story time for young children and book clubs for school-age children, teens and adults are also ongoing.

Makerspaces are now available in many of the Army MWR libraries. These spaces offer children, young adults and adults the opportunity to explore, create, invent, collaborate with robots, sew, paint and enjoy other Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics, or STEAM, inspired resources and programs.

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).