CAMP CASEY -- Books on an official Army reading list that's geared to help Soldiers sharpen their understanding of the military profession will now be easier to find at Area I libraries.
The books are those of the U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List for 2014 and are getting their own section of shelves marked off with a sign that makes the section easy to spot, Area I librarians said.
Until now books on the list were in various places among the libraries' shelves, arranged by subject under the Dewey decimal system.
"We felt it would be easier for the Soldiers to find items on the professional reading list if we put it in a separate area rather than have them go and search for the books individually," said Tracey Klippert, Supervisory Librarian for the Casey Enclave libraries.
The changes apply to all four Area I libraries: those of the Casey Enclave: Camp Casey and Camp Hovey in Dongducheon; and the Camp Red Cloud Enclave: those at Camp Red Cloud and Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu.
Area I libraries are also working to bring in any books on the list they don't already have, with the aim of eventually having an entire set available, librarians said.
The 2014 list numbers 51 titles.
The list is issued by the Army's Center of Military History.
The books listed are "suitable for readers of any rank or position" according to the Center, and are intended to help Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and others learn more about the Army, its history, and the crucial role of landpower in conflicts through history.
The Camp Casey Library set up its new section Oct. 15, and will soon do the same at the Camp Hovey Library, Klippert said.
A similar change will be made soon at the libraries on Camp Red Cloud and Camp Stanley, said Gordon Imrie, librarian managing the Stanley and Red Cloud libraries.
Giving the books their own section in the library comes as the Army's top library -- the Army General Library Information System (GLIS) -- moved recently to ensure Army libraries worldwide had all or nearly all of the books newly added to the Chief of Staff's list for 2014, said Klippert.
GLIS checked its records worldwide to see which Army libraries did not have all the newest titles, then shipped them if they were available.
"If you didn't have it and it was readily available from the vendors they get their books from, then they ordered it and sent it to the libraries," Klippert said.
For the Camp Casey Library, for example, that resulted in a carton of books arriving from GLIS in early September containing 15 new titles on the Chief of Staff's list.
The Casey Library now has 31 of the books on the list, new or otherwise, and Klippert plans to order the rest, she said.
The Red Cloud Library currently has about 80 percent of the books on the list, the Stanley Library about 30 percent, Imrie said.
"My goal is to have at least one of every obtainable item at Red Cloud and that'll also be on a separate set of shelves for easy access," Imrie said. "Certainly by the end of November, everything should be here."
The Chief of Staff's list is arranged in three categories: Armies at War: Battles and Campaigns; The Army Profession: and Strategy and the Strategic Environment.
A statement from Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, underscores the importance of professional reading.
"A course of personal study and contemplation," the statement says, "is an essential component for the individual development of every Army professional.
"Each of us faces busy schedules every day and finding time to read and think is a recurring challenge. But even as we train our units and physically condition our bodies, we must improve our minds through reading and critical thinking…
"The books on this list can sharpen our understanding of strategic landpower as an instrument of national power, the indispensable role of ethical leadership, and the extraordinary demands of land combat.
"I challenge each of you to read these books and to discuss, debate, and think critically about the ideas they contain."
The appearance of titles on the list "does not imply that the Chief of Staff endorses the author's views or interpretations," according to a Center statement that explains the reading program. "Nevertheless, these books contain thought-provoking ideas and viewpoints relevant to our Army," the statement says.
The full list of titles on the 2014 list is online at: http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/105/105-1-1/index.html.
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