We visited the Hunt Library at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. It's a high tech wonder.
The library is named after former Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., who governed from 1977 to 1985 and again from 1993 to 2001.
The library has stored its books in their bookBot. The machine has 18,000 metal bins with a capacity of 2 million books. Currently it only has 1.5 million, so they have room to grow. A forklift retrieves the correct container when someone requests a book. While it is an amazing technological innovation and does save room, I would miss being able to walk among the books and browse at leisure. Web surfing just isn't the same.
Upstairs is an Emerging Issues Commons with some interactive displays and ways to give feedback on issues impacting the university and the state. We did not give feedback but did enjoy the area.
The savings on shelving are put to good use with lots of open space for reading and study, as well as many lounges, labs, and creative spaces (including a game lab for Game Design students to work on and study video games).
The library's brochure also brags of the eighty some odd different types of chairs in the library, including some very odd ones indeed.
The top floor has a green roof to help absorb rain, as well as terraces with views of Lake Raleigh and the academic oval, a green space surrounded by dorms, academic buildings, and the occasional coffee shop.
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| The Hunt Library, NC State University |
The library is named after former Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., who governed from 1977 to 1985 and again from 1993 to 2001.
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| Portrait of James B. Hunt, Jr. |
The library has stored its books in their bookBot. The machine has 18,000 metal bins with a capacity of 2 million books. Currently it only has 1.5 million, so they have room to grow. A forklift retrieves the correct container when someone requests a book. While it is an amazing technological innovation and does save room, I would miss being able to walk among the books and browse at leisure. Web surfing just isn't the same.
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| bookBot bins |
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| The lift |
Upstairs is an Emerging Issues Commons with some interactive displays and ways to give feedback on issues impacting the university and the state. We did not give feedback but did enjoy the area.
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| A wacky bench |
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| Touch screens that provide information and make music |
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| Headlines twisting their way upstairs |
The savings on shelving are put to good use with lots of open space for reading and study, as well as many lounges, labs, and creative spaces (including a game lab for Game Design students to work on and study video games).
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| Reading area |
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| View of same reading area from one floor up |
The library's brochure also brags of the eighty some odd different types of chairs in the library, including some very odd ones indeed.
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| A twisty chair |
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| Another angle on the twist |
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| I'm more impressed with these combinable tables |
The top floor has a green roof to help absorb rain, as well as terraces with views of Lake Raleigh and the academic oval, a green space surrounded by dorms, academic buildings, and the occasional coffee shop.
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| Green roof |
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| Lake Raleigh (slanted horizon provided by toddler) |
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| Academic oval |
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