I recently attended the Joint Women’s Leadership Symposium in Pearl Harbor. It was a tremendous gathering of professionals - men and women, military and civilian, junior and senior – all sharing leadership experiences and discussing opportunities for growth. During one presentation, the speaker showed a TED talk by Sherry Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and founder of Leanin.org. Impressed by what I heard, I wanted to learn more – so I added Sandberg’s highly acclaimed book, Lean In to my “to do” list.
In the past, I would order books online and receive via snail mail – not the most time or cost efficient approach. Six months ago, I switched to E-books, receiving them immediately was great; however, cost per selection wasn’t any cheaper in the electronic format.
That is, until I discovered the free Navy MWR Digital Library, which supports a worldwide network offering the latest best-sellers as an e-book or audio book, interactive e-books for children, magazines, and newspapers -- with over 249,937 items available to choose from, along with over 8,400 titles specifically for children. Users can borrow up to 10 titles at a time and place holds on others. E-Books have a loan time of 14 days and the books automatically are checked in when the time limit is up – super easy! Can’t find the book you want? No worries, the site allow users to request a particular title.
The Navy MWR Digital Library site is extensive – with over 50+ services - there is something for everyone. In addition to E-books, there are digital magazines, auto repair, tutoring, genealogy, language and much, much more.
Best of all, access is open to US Navy, US Marine Corps, and US Coast Guard: Active, Retired & Reservists and their dependents, as well as, Civilian & Non-Appropriated Fund Employees & contractors.
Getting access is easy. Just follow these simple steps:
First, you must be validated by the Navy MWR Digital Library. Go to www.mwrdigitallibrary.navy.mil and click login. Select either:
- CAC login (CAC may be used from work or home computers equipped with a "CAC Reader”)
- DS Logon (for those who do not have a Common Access Card (CAC) -- typically, retirees & dependents --- DS Logon is also required if you do not have a CAC & CAC reader attached to your home device). If you don’t have a DS Logon, you'll be prompted to set one up via the “register” tab.
Note: Many of the services require an additional account with each vendor; this is due to the vendor not knowing who you are. They simply know that you are an authorized user based on accessing via the Navy MWR Digital Library site.
That’s all there is to it! So get started, it’s easy, fun, and free – enjoy!