by Staff Sgt. Paula Taylor
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
TAL ' AFAR, Iraq—Local government officials, including Tal 'Afar city mayor, Najim, participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 9 to commemorate the grand opening of the city's newest project, the General Library.
Located near the heart of the city, the library marks the most recent major project to be completed since Najim was elected mayor nearly two years ago.
"The planning and building were done by coalition forces," said Najim. "This library will provide services to the people of Tal 'Afar."
Also present at the ceremony were several city council members; Brig. Gen. Ibrahim, Tal 'Afar Police Department; Brig. Gen. Qais, Iraqi army; coalition forces from the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment; Soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division; and several local Iraqi townspeople.
"About 400 or 500 people turned out for the ceremony," said Maj. Mufutau Taiwo, squadron exectutive officer. "It was nice to see so many people there. They liked seeing the improvements to their city."
The library, which was the first one constructed since the 4th BCT's arrival October 2006, was built from funds provided by both the Iraqi government, as well as coalition forces.
"We helped facilitate the contracts," Taiwo explained. "This library is very significant to the people because it will lay a foundation for future generations. Children can go there to read and better themselves. It serves as a crux for future intellects, and education and reading is one of the first major stepping stones in developing future leaders."
Squadron special projects officer, 1st Lt. Brendan Fry, said the library is open to the public and currently has a collection of over 1,000 books. Plans to expand the library are on-going.