LEARNING SPACE PROFILE
Book
Smart
A new, state-of-the-art library
gives a campus a heart.
When administrators at North Carolina State
University (NC State) decided to build the James
B. Hunt Jr. Library at their Centennial Campus in
West Raleigh—a research park largely dedicated
to engineering and textiles—they wanted to
create a building that would strongly position
the campus as a place of the future.
To see evidence of this intent, look no further than
bookBot, a robotic system that delivers in less than
fve minutes any of two million books that students
can select from a virtual catalog. The system, which
stores the books in 18,000 underground bins, has
allowed the university to shif their focus from
storing books to accommodating the diverse needs
of students and faculty.
“The robotic system came into play, which gave
us 10 times more footprint to give the students,
faculty, and staf areas where they have a myriad
of choices,” said Gwendolyn Wood Emery, Director
of Library Environments. “They love the choices—
from individual spaces to those that are more open.”
NORTH CAROLINA
STATE UNIVERSITY
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
