European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 23, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Overseas libraries tailored to the readers n stories by Mary Neth consumer editor t hey Are the military s equivalent to the Public libraries in the United s ates with difference the 104 Usa eur libraries and the 32base plus 135 site air Force libraries tailor themselves even More to the particular needs of their communities. Say local librarians Candice Case head librarian for Darmstadt. Germany and fairly new to the army system notes that besides catering to focal Reading tables. The libraries also Are the principal research and resource centers for nil army nil duty education programs in Europe Case look Over her position of overseeing the main Library at Cambrai Funtsch Cavern and the two branches at Munster and Babenhausen last August. She was the Publ a service librarian for Cambrai before moving into her new Job and a librarian in Ohio before coming overseas we offer More non fiction than i noticed in the muted she says. John Hill head librarian a Aschaffenbur. Germany who has been with the system Long enough to see it so Ilch from command to Community control and the army from a draft to a Volunteer service agrees besides the main Library at Jaeger Cavern. Hill provides Library services for two Remote Sites he credits a great Deal of the operation s efficiency to the help Given by longtime employees such As Hanri Elore so Namiak who has been with the Library for 21 years. You need the continuity to reach your goals and to be ready Lor necessary when the makeup of the Community alters you must Oiler new things at the local Library he notes. The Volunteer army for example called for an entirely different emphasis in Reading materials Hill said that today there Are Many More families loads More and an increasing number of women in the military. That brought More need not Only for such As cookbooks and romances. They always say they Are women s books which is a chauvinistic viewpoint but also books on getting ahead As a woman in the Job Market and women s health books they Are not just Beauty boots but books on health gynaecological boo is Efti birth books " besides lending books the Usa eur and air Force libraries offer innumerable special programs for example children s Reading hours and summer rending programs programs for the Blind audio video Edu action programs Loans of records and music cassettes at one time even Loans of paintings and. Recently at a few army libraries checkout of Home movie video cassettes the air Force libraries Are mainly funded by appropriated funds and operate through the air Force Chain of command. The army libraries Are funded by local morale welfare and recreation offices and though they under the Usa eur Library program. Ihetu librarians As Well As those of the air Force can select the Type of programs they feel will mean the most to their immediate communities Raymond Yamachika Usa Peur lib my services director says thai some librarians have med feelings about the video loan program i believe Only four Are left or my offering says yarn Chika it is not that there is hesitancy at o of ring a visual product in a Library. We offer it ns., Aurto visual notes Yamachika Case said she thought it was Querl when she saw videos beg added to Public libraries or loan before she came overseas about three y-.-, ago she in t Lor them in the overseas libraries however they just proved too popular she says they caused us to have to Cut Down on other programs we just Don t have the stall to handle Hill who offers the Home Novie cassettes also says he has mixed feelings but he believes the benefits from handling videos outweigh any possible disadvantage. He says that the video cassettes have caused increased Library patronage. People got into the habit of coming into the he is determined to make the program work because he believes it is worthwhile. Mat it is hollering a part of american he says he does not feel in Competition with the video rental shops any More than with the stars and stripes bookstores there Are no lines at the libraries for overdue books. Lost books must be replaced by a new Book of the same value. When it comes to the overdue videos however Hill does not allow the checkout of another for 30 Days his Library patrons of course can Check out Book s in the meantime. If a video is lost there is a charge of $50"people who have been Cut off for 30 Days from video checkouts find they have become hooked on coming into the Library. They longingly look at the video cassette indicator Board As they come in waiting Lor their 30 Days to be up. But they Are still coming in because they know we have something to Oiler. The word got around that there Are a lot of decent books Here. Too. For example. We have a lot of health care books they Are very an to the popularity of the video cassettes Hill says that out of 87.260 items Lent out from october 198410 september 1985. 38.8-13 Weie video cassettes. About 14 Are Lent each Day. The Ascham Lenburg Library has 25.000 books. 2,000 music cassettes and Only 420 video cassettes. He also notes that they have riot proven expensive. They Are supposed to Only go Lor 100 plays but we have ones now that have lasted for live years " because our main Mission is to support the soldiers i his maybe More War movies than you would find in Tho United Stales in a video cassette lending Library ays Hill. I also have a consider Noble amount of regular dramatic movies. I have tried to have some movies that try to address even political debatable Points of interest the Type of issues that libraries Are supposed to have things on. I have for example. All the president s men and the front. But we also have and plenty of John Wayne. I try to get movies that have won awards. Some of them should go out More like Tom Jones. It is a great film but maybe people Don t like it because in is English made. I be kept within Bounds movies that Are excessively violent. I Don t know if i would order rambo. It in t our function to just give people things that will excite them and we Are not Here to improve people. It is the same standards As with books a selection of things of Good Quality and lasting Yamachika. However says that he eels other librarians have Given up the program because they Teel that other sources in the communities offer enough of such loan programs. Air Force libraries carry Home video cassettes Lor checkout they Are educational not Elerta raiment material however. Is photo by Lynda w. Spark Oversea libraries Luch at the one of Aschaffenbur offer Book selections tailored to Reader Tailes. Page 14 the stars and stripes monday december 23, 1985 the libraries offer school reference material
