For children, learning to read is a critical step in development and leaders in the Marine Corps Air Station New River community are stepping up to highlight this through multiple reading events at the New River library.
"Reading-wise, we do storytimes every other week," said Sean Pittman, program supervisor for the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune library systems.
According to the National Education Association (www.nea.org), 26 percent of children who are read to at least three to four times a week recognize all letters of the alphabet compared to 14 percent of children who were read to less frequently.
The library hosts reading events on the first, third, and if possible, fifth Tuesday of every month; even adults are invited, said Pittman.
"Last year we did over a couple hundred programs including the story times," said Pittman. "Anyone that calls us and asks us to come out and do something like this, we will always try to be there for it."
In December alone, the library has participated in over 15 holiday parties with units and groups around Marine Corps Installations East for over 8,000 people.
Not only have they held reading events at the library, but they have also held events for the Child Development Centers, Tarawa Terrance community center, Atlantic Marine Corps Communities and for the Exceptional Family Member Program.
"Usually we attempt to follow the same theme for the entire week," said Pittman. "If there’s a special holiday coming up, we follow the holiday, especially if there’s an event for it coming up in the local community."
For more information on New River library programs, visit www.mccslejeune-newriver.com/libraries for times and dates of their hundreds of planned events for 2016.
"It’s all about making it fun for the kids," said Pittman. "Everyone’s welcome to come as long as they enjoy it."