It’s no surprise that we at MilMomAdventures love to read. You’ve heard about our favorite military life books, deployment books for kids, and our favorite book subscription service. Now that we are preparing for summer vacation, we’re looking for good beach reads, and books to keep the kids enteretained. The library is one of our favorite places in the summer. Air conditioned and full of good books and activities. We’ve rounded up all of the libraries on Camp Pendleton and in the surrounding cities to give you lots of ideas for summer fun. From what we can see, there will be no shortage of free, educational fun this summer thanks to all of these great libraries. Check library websites (linked below) for schedule changes before you go. Don’t forget that the libraries aboard Camp Pendelton have copy, print and fax services for free or minimal costs! Computers and free internet are also available at all base libraries. This can be very helpful when you’re in the middle of a PCS and haven’t set up your office yet (and the Patrick J. Carney Library on Camp Pendleton is open 7 days a week, as late as 8pm on some nights). Keep reading for our list of all area libraries, and see below for some of the summer fun at local branches.
Camp Pendleton Library’s Summer Reading Club
Register online or at the library, log your reading minutes, and earn rewards! There are clubs for everyone in the family: Children’s Summer Reading Club (Birth to 6th grade), Teen Reading Club (grades 7-12), and Adult Reading Club (ages 18 and up). There are FREE T-SHIRTS available to the first 1500 children who register at the library! You will get a reading log to track your minutes. Return to the library on or before July 14th, 2018 with your log to get a certificate and prizes. This is a great way to keep kids interested in reading, even when school is out. We did this as kids at our local library, and we’re still book lovers to this day.
Libraries Aboard and Around Camp Pendleton:
On Camp Pendleton:
– Building 1146, old Mainside by Paige Field House
– Open Monday through Thursday from 8am to 8pm, Friday from 8am to 4:30pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm
– Building 200090, up the hill and behind the new hospital
– Open Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm
– Building 51093, in the Commissary, Exchange, and Sonic Plaza
– Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday only, 9am to 5pm
Around Camp Pendleton:
North:
For Orange County Public Libraries, you can apply for a library card using your military ID in person or online here. There will be a Summer Reading program that runs June 18th to July 29th, 2018. This is a reading challenge, and details will be available here soon!
San Clemente Check out their calendar here. They regularly host a preschool storytime and an afterschool club, among other kid-centered events.
Dana Point Check out their calendar here. They have toddler and preschool storytimes each week, Lego Club, Read to a Dog events, and more!
South:
Oceanside The Oceanside Public Library will be hosting a summer reading club from June 4th to August 11, 2018. The theme is “Reading Takes you Everywhere” (so does the military, right?!). It looks like the theme will be the same up north at the Orange County libraries, but we haven’t seen those details yet. The Oceanside program is for kids ages 0 to 12. There are also summer reading programs for teens and adults. There will be rewards and special events related to the reading program throughout the summer. Check out the details here.
Carlsbad We just learned about Carlsbad City Library’s “Books to Go”, a mobile, bike-powered library on wheels. Go check out the pictures and information on where to find it here. We think this would be a lot of fun for the kids to see and experience!
East:
San Diego County Library cards are free for military, and you can review the application on their website, or complete one at your local branch.
Fallbrook The Fallbrook Branch Library has kids yoga on Wednesday afternoons, and mommy and baby yoga on Friday mornings! Check out their calendar for more events, and their Facebook page with lots of information and pictures from past events here.
Temecula This city has two libraries. It looks like they will also be participating in a “Reading Takes you Everywhere” program this summer! We’re excited to see that no matter where you live around Camp Pendleton, your local library should have a lot of summer fun ready for your family to enjoy.
If You’re PCSing:
Even if you’re hitting the road this summer, you can still find reading fun along the way! On our last PCS, we happened to stumble upon a Free Little Library. We had never heard of this concept, but loved the idea. We left one of our books and took another for the road. How much fun would it be to see how many Free Little Libraries you can find during your road trip? Or build one at your new duty station for your whole neighborhood to enjoy! And don’t forget that most libraries have books on tape you can download to your phone and play via Bluetooth for your car ride (which is great for those prone to carsickness when reading).
Happy Summer Reading, Friends!
