The Library of the Future
In three months, NC State will open a new signature building.
The Hunt Library on Centennial Campus will be the research library of the future, a vibrant intellectual and social forum where students, faculty and staff can gather and establish new ways to learn, research, collaborate, and strengthen the university’s long tradition of leading transformative change.
Named for NC State alumnus and four-term former North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., the Hunt Library will build on the university’s legacy in technology, engineering, textiles, science, and educational innovation. As governor, Hunt was a vital force in the establishment of Centennial Campus.
Library features include:
• The bookBot, a robotic, automated book delivery system that houses up to 2 million items and can deliver an item within five minutes of a user choosing it from the online catalog
• Technology-rich spaces where students and faculty can do pioneering work in large-scale visualization and simulation
• Videoconferencing and multimedia production facilities that encourage collaboration across locations and mastery of the latest audio and video tools
• The new library will also double the library study seating available to students on campus.
By putting leading-edge technology in the hands of students and faculty at all hours of the day and night, the Hunt Library will enable and encourage learning, experimentation, and technology-intensive projects, and will build community by showcasing university research and bringing together scholars from many disciplines.
The Hunt Library will give NC State an edge for student and faculty recruitment and retention — and become an international destination for those who want to explore how research, learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration can be transformative catalysts for a vibrant economy and culture.
The building itself will be as daring and innovative as the work that occurs inside it. The lead design firm, Snøhetta, designed the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City and the expansion to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among other iconic structures. Snøhetta’s philosophy emphasizes a strong relationship between architecture and the landscape surrounding it.
The Hunt Library’s executive architects, North Carolina’s Pearce Brinkley Cease +Lee, have created some of the most memorable buildings in the state and were recently ranked 15th among the top firms in the nation by Architecture Magazine.
“In its bold use of space and its immersive technologies, the Hunt Library will say something profound about the sort of community that one joins when one chooses to study or work at NC State,” said Susan K. Nutter, vice provost and director of the NCSU Libraries. “Already, months before the building opens on January 2, 2013, many are saying that the Hunt Library will be nothing less than the best learning and collaborative space in the country. ”
