NC State dedicates $115.2M Hunt Library

North Carolina State University officially dedicated the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on Centennial Campus on Wednesday afternoon.

Posted 6:41 p.m. Apr 3, 2013 — Updated 1:30 a.m. Apr 4, 2013

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State University officially dedicated the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on Centennial Campus on Wednesday afternoon.

The $115.2 million, 221,000-square-foot library opened on Jan. 2 and is named after the four-term governor and N.C. State alumnus, whom many considered a champion of technology.

"I never dreamed it would be this good," Hunt said Wednesday. "The things that excites me the most is that students tell me they like it."

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Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including hands-on visualization labs, simulation studios, a game lab and a five-story robotic book retrieval system that can hold up to 2 million books, the library was designed to be engaging.

"A lot of exhibition experiences you go to, they're more teaching. But here, they're actually engaging the guest to be a part of it," said developer Cybelle Jones.

Projects that have already used the library’s technologies include a simulator to train naval ROTC midshipmen to operate the bridge of a modern warship, a 3-D recreation of St. Paul’s Cross that demonstrates the impact of 17th-century sermons as they were actually delivered, a student-created video game based on the Hunt Library’s book circulation patterns and prototypes of engineering projects to allow the visually impaired to navigate complex traffic intersections, according to the library's website.

"Centennial Campus is about innovation, about transformation and economic development, and we wanted a space that said that to the world," said Chancellor Randy Woodson. “Every prospective student interested in N.C. State will walk in this space and want to be at this university."

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