Navy Professional Reading Program: Results of the 2007 Survey

摘要

In 2007, the Navy instituted the Navy Professional Reading Program (NPRP), designed to empower Sailors to grow professionally by improving critical thinking and stimulating discussion through professional reading. The program includes 60 books across 6 subject areas and 5 career states. Toward the end of the first year of implementation, a survey was conducted to look at reading habits of Navy personnel as well as opinions of the NPRP. Results show that the majority consider themselves 'casual' or 'avid' readers, with about half reading books for pleasure on either a daily or weekly basis. The most common topic of the last book read as well as the most likely book to read was history. The majority agree that a reading list or program is good for the Navy and will make the Navy of tomorrow better than the Navy of today, but awareness of the program is low especially for those in the lower career stages. At least one-third (up to 82% of senior leaders) of those who know about the program have read NPRP books, and at least one-third have had informal discussions with coworkers about the books. Based upon the results, a key recommendation is to increase the visibility of the program as well as the interactivity.