Frequently Asked Questions

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Purpose and Benefits of the Hunt Library

What is the purpose of the Hunt Library?
NC State University's Centennial Campus is known across the U.S. and internationally as a groundbreaking model for a community built around knowledge, a research park where university, corporate, and government groups work together to shape North Carolina's future. The Hunt Library will be a beautiful and inspiring "signature" building that will embody the entrepreneurial aspirations of the university, acting as a much-needed intellectual and social heart for the Centennial Campus. The iconic new library will house our engineering, textiles, and parts of our hard sciences collections and will embody the spirit of NC State's competitive advantage in science and technology. It is expected to be a key factor in attracting and retaining the best faculty, students, and corporate partners. The Hunt Library will also house the Institute for Emerging Issues.

In the design of this landmark building, NC State seeks nothing less than to create the best learning and collaborative space in the country.

The Hunt Library will also begin to remedy a substantial seating problem that has handicapped NC State. The UNC system standard is to provide library study seating for 20% of the student population. NC State is far below that standard; we are currently able to seat less than 5% of our students. The Hunt Library will double our study seating capacity.

The NCSU Libraries currently receives up to 16,000 visits a day, more than enough to fill up Reynolds Coliseum. Visits increased by 42% during the 2008/09 academic year.

The Hunt Library, through the innovative application of a robotic automated retrieval system (ARS), will also provide capacity for 2 million volumes of books, journals, and manuscript collections. In the past decade, faculty and students have emphasized that strong research collections must be a top priority, and the university has shown the wisdom to make such investments. The library collection constitutes the essential foundation supporting and enabling learning and the creation of knowledge. Print materials remain an important component of research and learning, with hundreds of thousands of uses each year complementing the use of the electronic collection.

Why is the new library named the "James B. Hunt Jr. Library"?
The library is named in honor of James B. Hunt Jr., former North Carolina governor (1977–1985 and 1993–2001). An NC State alumnus and student body president, Governor Hunt strongly championed educational initiatives and was instrumental in the creation of both the Centennial Campus itself and the Institute for Emerging Issues, which will be housed in the Hunt Library.

The Gallery in the Hunt Library will serve as a permanent tribute to Governor Hunt's leadership and contribution to North Carolina.

Where will the Hunt Library be located?
The Hunt Library will anchor the Centennial Campus' academic Oval, sitting at the southwest end of the Oval overlooking Lake Raleigh. It will serve primarily the Colleges of Engineering and Textiles. The College of Textiles is currently on Centennial Campus; Engineering faculty and students are located on the campus in greater numbers as the new Engineering buildings are completed there.

Why is the Hunt Library needed at this particular time?
The Hunt Library will begin to remedy a substantial study seating problem at NC State. The UNC system standard is to provide library study seating for 20% of the student population. NC State is far below that standard; we are currently able to seat less than 5% of our students. The Hunt Library will double our seating capacity, though it will still be below the standard. The NCSU Libraries currently receives up to 16,000 visits a day, more than enough to fill up Reynolds Coliseum. Visits increased by 42% during the 2008/09 academic year. The NCSU Libraries is currently ranked last in the University of North Carolina system in terms of square feet per student.

While the growth of digital collections means that the library of the future will have a much higher proportion of space devoted to library users than traditional library buildings, print collections remain an essential component of meeting research and teaching needs in a hybrid print and digital environment. With a collection of over four million volume equivalents, the D. H. Hill Library is operating far beyond its functional capacity, and with the Satellite Shelving Facility also filled to capacity, the NCSU Libraries literally has no place to shelve print materials.

The Hunt Library will also serve as a much-needed intellectual and social heart for the Centennial Campus. It will support the research conducted there—a major factor in the health of the North Carolina economy—and is expected to be a key factor in attracting and retaining the best faculty, students, and corporate partners.

In January 2009, the NC Council of State announced it was accelerating the sale of bonds to finance the Hunt Library, in part to provide a strong short-term stimulus for the state's economy.

What will the Hunt Library look like?
The Hunt Library will be a beautiful and inspiring "signature" building that embodies the essence of Centennial Campus as a community built around knowledge. Taking advantage of its elevated site, the Hunt Library will offer views of Lake Raleigh and the downtown Raleigh skyline in keeping with the spirit of the intellectual quests within. In the design of this landmark building, NC State seeks nothing less than to create the best learning and collaborative space in the country. For the latest architectural renderings of the library, see the photo gallery.

In the age of Google, why are libraries needed at all? Can't students and faculty just find what they need online?
This is one of the most common misconceptions about modern research libraries. In fact, visits to libraries have continued to increase substantially across the U.S. in recent years. In the last academic year alone, visits to the NCSU Libraries increased by 42%, averaging, for instance, over 16,000 a day during April 2009. The NCSU Libraries are the most used facilities on campus, and students say that they are their most valuable university resource.

This is because patrons of twenty-first-century libraries value them as spaces—centers of learning that provide comfortable areas with easy access to the latest technologies—as well as both quiet and collaborative places to work. They are the places students go when they get serious about getting their work done and when they need expertise in how to find and use information.

Much of the information needed by university students and researchers is not, in fact, available for free on the internet. Scholarly information is often available only to those who have paid for it. One of the Libraries' most valuable services is in doing the research and negotiations to purchase access to a wide range of electronic resources for the university community. This work goes on behind the scenes and is not visible to most users, who often have little idea that they have access to electronic journals and databases only because the Libraries has negotiated and paid for that access. These negotiations result in huge savings to the university community as a whole.

How will the Hunt Library benefit the people of North Carolina?
With easy access to world-renowned faculty, a highly educated workforce of undergraduate and graduate students, and state-of-art research labs – all within arm's reach of our corporate, governmental, and not-for-profit partners – NC State's Centennial Campus is a nationally recognized model for next-generation collaborative research parks. The 2,200 employees of corporate and institutional partners on the campus – along with the research done by the university – are a huge engine of growth for the state economy, driving the innovation in science and technology that is crucial for our economic health.

As a great research library, the Hunt Library will be a critical asset for the work being done on Centennial Campus and across the university and a strong force for economic growth; as a great building, it will be an iconic showcase and symbol of the latest technologies and research achievements of the state and the university, attracting visitors from near and far.

What collections will the Hunt Library hold?
The Hunt Library will be located on Centennial Campus, the fastest-growing section of NC State's campus and home to the College of Textiles, much (and soon all) of the College of Engineering, and other scientific disciplines. Accordingly, it will house collections centered on these disciplines and material critical to interdisciplinary research on Centennial Campus.

When will construction on the Hunt Library begin?
The official groundbreaking will be held on October 23, 2009. The building is expected to be finished in May 2012. You can use this website to follow the building's construction on the timeline and in real time on our live webcams.

Who is responsible for designing and building the Hunt Library?
The architect for Hunt Library is Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee Architecture (PBC+L), a North Carolina architectural firm with offices in Raleigh and Asheville. Founded in 1945, PBC+L specializes in academic and cultural arts projects with an emphasis on higher education projects. For more information about PBC+L can be found in this website's brief profile of the firm.

The lead designer for the project is Snøhetta, an integrated landscape, interior, and architectural practice based in Oslo, Norway, and New York, NY. Snøhetta has won numerous international awards, including the 2009 Mies van der Rohe Award, Europe's most prized award for architectural excellence. Snøhetta was recently ranked 15th in the world in architectural practices.

The builder is Skanska, an international builder that has had a presence in the area since 1918 and a long history of work at NC State, UNC, and Duke. Skanska is currently working on the Engineering Building III on Centennial Campus.

At least 56% of the project's design fees will be spent on North Carolina firms, and it is projected that roughly 95% of the construction payments will go to North Carolina firms.

What other functions will the Hunt Library house?
The building will also be the home of the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI), a public policy, think-and-do tank that convenes leaders from business, nonprofit organizations, government, and higher education to tackle some of the biggest issues facing North Carolina's future growth and prosperity. Governor Jim Hunt has been the driving force behind the IEI. Through research, ideas, debate, and action, the IEI prepares leaders to address North Carolina's future challenges and opportunities. North Carolina has long been a model state in the Southeast, with a legacy of forward-thinking leadership and effective collaboration. IEI seeks to mirror and encourage these values, serving as the premiere, university-based public policy organization.

The Hunt Library will also provide some space for university administration, allocated initially to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Graduate School. Approximately 63% of the building will be used as library space.

Who will be the primary users of the Hunt Library?
The Hunt Library's primary user community will include faculty, students, and staff in the College of Textiles, the College of Engineering, and portions of the hard sciences and veterinary programs. The library will also serve researchers and employees in the many research centers, institutes, and laboratories on the campus and those of corporate, government, and non-profit partners, including leaders in nanotechnology, information technology, biotechnology, and other growth industries. The campus population currently consists of 2,200 employees of corporate and institutional partners; 1,350 university faculty, staff and post-docs; and 3,400 university students. At buildout, the total population based on Centennial Campus is projected to be nearly 30,000-40,000. Graduate and undergraduate students in all programs at the university will also make use of the new technologies and spaces in the Hunt Library – for many who live south of campus, it will be a convenient location with readily available parking.

How many users does the NCSU Libraries already have at its current facilities?
The NCSU Libraries' facilities (the D. H. Hill Library and four branch libraries) are the most used spaces on campus; and that usage continues to grow. In April, we averaged over 16,000 visits a day (more than enough to fill up Reynolds Coliseum during one of those fabled midcentury ACC championship games). Last academic year, we had almost 2.5 million visitors, an increase of 42% from the previous year. Our web homepage averages almost 500,000 hits a month.

Our collections received over 3 million uses last year, as faculty and staff:

• Downloaded almost 2 million full-text articles
• Checked out or renewed 325,000 printed books
• Started almost 800,000 database sessions
• Checked out almost 80,000 ebooks

How were students and faculty involved in the planning process for Hunt Library?
Students and faculty have been involved from the outset of the design process, including during the three charrettes that helped the university determine who would be the architects and designers of the building. Focus group discussions and interviews with faculty and students have informed all aspects of the planning process. Our University Library Committee and Student Advisory Board continue to give us valuable input as we move forward to determine the technology mix, types of furniture, and other features of the space.

Which will be the main library? Hunt or D. H. Hill?
The D. H. Hill Library will continue to be the main library for the north, central, and south campuses. The Hunt Library will serve as the main library for the Centennial Campus.

The branch libraries at NC State are the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine; the Harrye B. Lyons Design Library; the Natural Resources Library; and the Burlington Textiles Library. The staff, services, and collections of the Burlington Textiles Library will be incorporated into the Hunt Library.

What is the budget for the Hunt Library?
The North Carolina General Assembly appropriated a $126 million budget for the project, but reduced that budget by $10.7 million during the 2009 budget crisis.

I hear that state budget cuts are requiring the Libraries to reduce spending on new books and journals to support NC State's core collections. Why can't we shift money from the new library to our collections budget?
State funds for capital projects, such as the Hunt Library, come from separate budget lines that cannot be used for library collections and services. The Hunt Library has been fast-tracked by the state in part to provide a strong short-term stimulus for the state's economy. The growth in enrollment for the 2009/10 academic year may allow us to reduce or eliminate the amount we planned to reduce spending on our collection.

Will the new library's environmental footprint be a good reflection on the university?
The Hunt Library will be a "green" building with a LEED Silver certification.

What will happen to the Burlington Textiles Library once the Hunt Library opens?
The staff, services, and collections of the Burlington Textiles Library will be incorporated into the Hunt Library, and the College of Textiles will use that space for its growing programs.

What will happen to the space in D. H. Hill as the appropriate collections are moved to the Hunt Library?
Much of the space will be used to meet the rising demand for technology-rich study and collaboration space in the D. H. Hill Library.

What will be the transportation and parking options for the new Hunt Library?
The library will be integrated into the Wolfline campus bus system. In addition, a new parking deck is scheduled to be built in the near vicinity.

Will Hunt Library be open 24 hours?
The current plans are to make the library available 24/5 during the academic year, mirroring the schedule of the D. H. Hill Library. If there is student and faculty demand and budget resources permit, the Hunt Library may be able to adopt a 24/7 schedule.

Space and Technology in the Hunt Library

How large is the Hunt Library?
The Hunt Library will contain approximately 139,000 net square feet. Library functions will occupy 87,955 net square feet.

What organizations and functions will the Hunt Library house?

About 63% of the building will house library functions, including user seating, technology-equipped collaborative spaces, collections, and work spaces for library staff. The building will also house the Institute for Emerging Issues and a number of spaces for university administration.

What sorts of study spaces will the Library contain?
The building will recognize the various needs of different user groups—graduate and undergraduate students, faculty members, and researchers—and will offer spaces tailored to those unique demands, including a Research Commons, a Graduate Commons, a Skyline Reading Room, a Creativity Zone, and a Teaching and Visualization Lab, as well as many group study rooms and individual study seats. At this point, 54 group study rooms are in the plan.

Because our students and faculty are often in the library for hours at a time, they need a safe, convenient, in-building area to grab a snack or take a break without substantially interrupting work time. The Hunt Library will offer a cafe for light snacks and an area for electronic games.

In the design of this landmark building, NC State seeks nothing less than to create the best learning and collaborative space in the country.

How many group study rooms will be located in the Hunt Library?
Demand for group study rooms has traditionally far exceeded supply at the NCSU Libraries. The Hunt Library will close this gap by providing 54 technology-rich study rooms. Faculty and graduate students will also have access to dedicated Commons to meet their needs for room to work and collaborate.

What is the "Creativity Zone"?
The Hunt Library will continue the NCSU Libraries' long heritage as technology incubator for learning at the university. The Creativity Zone is a case in point. Planned to be a flexible, multi-configurable area, it will provide a fully collaborative space with flat-panel displays, portable whiteboards, moveable furniture and work surfaces, and multi-touch display solutions, plus integrated audio. Think of it as a high-tech enabled "garage"-like space where engineering students, for example, could work on projects requiring both display and assembly of physical objects.

What is the Teaching and Visualization Lab?
The Teaching and Visualization Lab will be a flexible, "immersive theater" type of space with large screens, multi-touch screens, software for group collaboration, and potentially next-generation 3D immersive displays.

What is the technology plan for Hunt Library?
Much of the NCSU Libraries' international reputation has been earned because of its pioneering role as a technology incubator for both learning and research. The Hunt Library will embody the aspirations of a great, technology-focused university. In the design of this landmark building, NC State seeks nothing less than to create the best learning and collaborative space in the country. This requires a forward-looking and adventurous approach to emerging technologies and a commitment to make the best tools readily available to our students and faculty.

We plan to capitalize on three trends in technological change as we outfit the library:

• Ever-greater bandwidth and continued reduction in computing costs will enable expanded use of computing-intensive applications such as large-scale visualization
• User interfaces are becoming more touch-based, making it easier to interact with information and data
• Computing and communication functions are converging in mobile devices, enabling new possibilities for people to interact with information, spaces, and each other

In addition to the basics—wireless connectivity and flexible, easy access to electrical power—the environment in Hunt Library will be permeated with virtual browsing, video-conferencing, on-line room scheduling, collaborative projection, whiteboards, video walls, and technology-enabled furniture.

What is the Automated Retrieval System (ARS)?
The Hunt Library, which is being designed to take full advantage of the latest technology, will house print collections in a state-of-the-art Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ARS). The library will contain up to 2 million volumes—including the working collections for engineering, biotechnology, and textiles, as well as fragile and other materials that benefit most from environmentally stable conditions.

The technology underlying high-density automated shelving has been used in large-scale industries such as automotive manufacturing and textiles for many years. Recently the technology has been adapted for use in research libraries. In these systems, barcoded items are sorted by size and stored in barcoded bins. Each item is scanned into an inventory-control database whenever it is removed from and returned to its storage location, as is the bin into which the item is deposited. The ARS will allow us to store nine times more books than conventional shelving would.

From the patron's perspective, the system will be fascinating to watch and easy to use. Requests for materials can be made via the online catalog or a virtual-browse display from any computer with an Internet connection. Within minutes of receiving the order, a robotic crane will retrieve the materials and deliver them to a service point.

The ARS holds nine times the books as traditional shelving, allowing us to free large amounts of space and direct our capital budget towards technology-rich study and collaboration spaces.

How does the ARS improve service?
We estimate that users will be able to pick up their books within five minutes of clicking the request button in the online catalog or virtual-browse display. Also, by changing the economics of storage, we will be able to continue to afford to keep our collection here on campus.

What happens to serendipity when robots take over book retrieval?
Most library users have experienced "accidentally" finding just the right resource shelved next to the book they were originally looking for. The Hunt Library will take this to the next level. We are currently developing a virtual browsing application that will offer a visual interface and allow users to "virtually" see the books that would normally surround the book they are looking for on the shelf—and then click around to browse online through both the table of contents and the books themselves. Virtual browsing will reflect the modern nature of our catalog, which consist of both physical and electronic objects—and will provide an improved browsing experience, one worthy of a great university with its roots deep in providing technological solutions to the world's greatest problems.

Will the Hunt Library have any open stacks?
Yes. The Hunt Library will have approximately 40,000 popular and recently published volumes available for traditional browsing on open shelves.

Will food and game spaces be available in Hunt?
Studies have shown over and over that when students and faculty are in the NCSU Libraries they are often here for hours at a time. They need safe, convenient, in-building areas to grab a snack or relax without substantially interrupting work time. The Hunt Library will have both a venue for snacks and drinks and a gaming space to meet these needs.

How to Help and Learn More

How can I learn more about the Hunt Library?
Our website about the Hunt Library is constantly being updated with the latest information about the new library.

How can I keep up with the construction of the Hunt Library?
You can follow the construction in real time on our timeline and live webcams.

How can I support the Hunt Library?
Our donors have traditionally given us the essential help and support that has allowed the NCSU Libraries to be a real competitive advantage for the university. Information on a variety of ways to give—including opportunities to name features of the new library—is available at the Giving to the Libraries site, and you donate to support the Hunt Library via a simple webform.

Last updated: October 2009