Participation puts more books on library shelves

  • Published
  • By Jeanne Grimes
  • 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) --  There are rewards in a good book -- or in stacks and shelves of them -- as some youngsters here are learning.

About 20 children in kindergarten through eighth grade are enrolled for the spring session in the Read by Mail program at the youth center.

Last summer, Tinker was one of the top 10 bases Air Force-wide in terms of participation in the program, said Cathy Unger, school-age coordinator.

“Because of that, the Air Force bought us $1,000 worth of books for our program,” Ms. Unger said.

With more than 13,000 titles on the program’s book list, children have ample choices of reading material. The youngsters are grouped into three age brackets: kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grades and sixth through eighth grades.

Air Force prizes are awarded for points earned. Prizes include a camera for first place, CD holder for second and key holder for third.

Participation is tracked online, Ms. Unger said, and as a child reads a book, he or she logs onto an interactive Web site at the youth center and answers questions about that book to receive any points. The points are awarded based on the length of the book and the grade level.

Children in kindergarten through second grade must earn 2,100 points to receive the camera, 1,400 points for the CD holder and 700 points for the key holder. For grades three through five, the point thresholds are 3,150, 2,100 and 1,050. The points requirement jumps to 4,200, 2,800 and 1,400 for sixth through eighth grades.

Youngsters are free to register for the program at any time. The current program opened in January and continues until mid-May.

“Participation is the key on this,” Ms. Unger said. “We encourage literacy in our program.”