Relocation, renovation of JFC Brunssum Library serves Tri-Border customers

BRUNSSUM, The Netherlands - A $595,000 project to relocate and renovate the Joint Forces Command Brunssum Library reached the final stage July 1 as Tri-Border leaders cut the ribbon to open doors at the new facility, located in the Mini-Mall on JFC Headquarters here.

The ceremony marked completion of a project that began more than three years ago. It first sparked as an idea many years prior and slowly evolved through the intricate coordination of U.S. and NATO staffs at JFC HQ Support Group, U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen and Installation Management Command-Europe .

"This was truly a 'joint' project in every sense of the word," explained Rob Mackson, director of USAG Schinnen's Public Works. His team coordinated requirements, funding and contractual arrangements for the project, while JFC HQ Support Group handled construction management in conjunction with the Dutch Ministry of Defense.

"Individually, neither JFC nor Schinnen had the right combination of resources to make this happen, but together, we achieved something that previously had been unattainable," Mackson said.

The library had been in its original location on the second floor of building H-201 since 1967 when JFC first located its headquarters operation on the installation. Library Director Carla Kruizinga came on board in 1976. From her earliest days at JFC, she remembers discussions of moving the library to more accessible or spacious locations. "But funding was always the issue," Kruizinga said.

Although staff salaries, materials and periodicals are paid out of USAG Schinnen's budget, the library building and maintenance costs are covered by NATO. "There were many attempts to fund a move through NATO, but they always met hurdles," Kruizinga explained.

Finally in 2007, with budget reductions and troop draw-downs on the horizon, JFC HQ and USAG Schinnen commanders brainstormed several possibilities for improving library services, including a potential move. Space next to the Shop 2000 in the JFC Mini-Mall was scheduled to come available, but NATO did not have the funds to renovate.

A fortuitous visit by IMCOM officials during this time gave the Tri-Border leaders just the impetus they needed to put a plan in action. Russell Hall, then director of IMCOM-E, remarked during the visit that he could possibly secure Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization funds for renovations and relocation if USAG Schinnen and JFC officials could present a plan that would satisfy various NATO, Dutch and U.S. requirements.

That's all it took to set the group in motion, recalled Sjaak Seroo, Schinnen's chief engineer. "The hardest thing about this project was that so many parties were involved with so many unique requirements. We were dealing with NATO and local Brunssum authorities, host nation requirements and U.S. funding issues. This made it a real challenge, but because all the parties communicated well together, we kept the project on track and reached completion in a timely manner," Seroo said.

Once funding was approved, the contract was awarded in December 2008, and work began in January 2009. In just six short months, the library opened its doors in the new location. Some of the renovation work will continue into the fall, but the library resumes service to patrons following the July 1 ribbon cutting ceremony.

Additional improvements to other parts of the building will take place throughout the coming year, according to Col. Lawrence Strobel, JFC HQ Support Group commander. Eventually, the JFC Mini-Mall will house the Barber Shop, a Community Bank ATM, a coffee shop, dry cleaners, car rental and souvenir shop, Strobel said.

"This library project represents the efforts of many dedicated individuals who understood the importance of improving quality of life for all of our U.S. and NATO families in the Tri-Border area," Strobel said.

Thanks to the help of dozens of volunteers from Geilenkirchen NATO Airbase, JFC and Schinnen, the actual move of library furniture and approximately 45,000 books, periodicals and other materials took only two weeks. "It would have been impossible to do this with just our small library staff," Kruizinga said. "The volunteers were indispensible."

Members of JFC's Engineer Platoon, plus Supply and Motor Pool personnel, installed shelves and a circulation desk they picked up earlier in the year from Army libraries that were closing at Hanau and Leighton Barracks. "The shelves and furniture were free; we just had to claim them before those libraries closed, then store them until we could install it all here," Kruizinga explained. She estimated that effort alone saved at least $60,000.

In the weeks leading up to the move, library patrons were encouraged to check out extra items and keep them well past their due date into July. Every item checked out was one less item that had to be packed and moved, Kruizinga laughed.

The effort paid off: nearly 18,000 items were checked out by the time the move began on June 8. "That's about 64 percent more than what patrons normally check out in an average month," Kruizinga said, "so we're really grateful to the people who helped by checking out extra items...but you can bring them back now and check out more things at our new location!"