Reading still the great American pastime

By Molly Hayden, U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr Public AffairsNovember 2, 2012

Reading still the great American pastime
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

VILSECK, Germany -- Hundreds of patrons peruse the aisles of books at the Rose Barracks library, here, daily, looking for a dizzying array of titles and subjects. Choosing what to read may not be an easy task as the library provides a lexicon of published works for every occasion, housing an overwhelming collection of more than 18,000 books. Additionally, nearly 4,000 DVDs and hundreds of CDs, video games and language guides line adjoining shelves.

These numbers double when combined with the Grafenwoehr library, ringing up the tally to more than 62,000 written stories from which to choose. From educational textbooks, nonfiction historical accounts and daydreaming fiction stories that carry readers away, the community libraries deliver.

If the library close to home doesn't offer the title desired by a customer, the intra-library system heeds the hankering. Twenty-two Army-Europe libraries currently work together, sharing their inventories to provide the Army community with more than a million titles at their disposal.

And, according to Joann Ogreenc, public services librarian at the Grafenwoehr library, the libraries go out of their way to bring the community exactly what it wants.

"We don't hold back, we provide any and all kinds of books," said Ogreenc, adding that graphic novels are currently growing in popularity.

But the ever-popular sequential art novels aren't the only books raising eyebrows among community members.

"We even have 'Fifty Shades of Grey,'" Ogreenc added coyly.