The James B. Hunt Jr. Library is the 14th-most-beautiful library in the world, according to bestvalueschools.com. It is the only library from North Carolina to make the top-50 list, and it outranked famous libraries in Germany, Sweden and Japan.
David Hiscoe, director of communication strategies and external relations of N.C. State libraries, said he and other N.C. State faculty members were surprised the library has received the level of international attention that it has.
“Word about Hunt has gone international,” Hiscoe said. “We did a lot of marketing to spread the word about Hunt Library, and one of its purposes was to raise the profile of N.C. State, which it has indeed accomplished, but we never know when something wonderful like this is going to show up in the press.”
Judges ranked the libraries using several categories, and they looked not only at external and internal appearance but at the amenities available, surrounding environment and history of the building.
Though its clean, sleek and contemporary appearance was noted in the ranking, it was also praised for its eco-friendly design.
“Thirty-one percent of the materials used in the library’s construction are recycled in origin, lighting is natural or solar energy-based, and the majority of the timber was taken from sustainable forests,” according to the bestvalueschools.com ranking.
Some students have said they are proud of the ranking and admire the library’s modern architecture.
Josh Helms, a junior in paper science and engineering, said he enjoys the library’s physical aesthetic and agreed with bestvalueschools.com’s notion that there are other beautiful aspects of the library that aren’t related to appearance.
“Personally, I agree with the ranking,” Helms said. However, I also believe that beauty is opinionated and more than just appearance. I also love the open space and the fact that it is not a confined area. Hunt Library has a very cozy feel that I really appreciate.”
Compared to other libraries, Hunt is way ahead as far as technology and modernity, Helms said.
“We have a lot of resources available here that other libraries in the area do not have available to them,” Helms said. “I have seen several students from neighboring schools come to Hunt to use the resources and technology that their school libraries lack.”
Arjun Aravindan, a junior in computer science, said he also liked the openness of Hunt Library, as well as all the multimedia rooms available.
“I am very impressed with Hunt,” Aravindan said. “I love the transparency and all the open rooms. Hunt has the features of a typical library, but it also has means of entertainment, game rooms, art studios, music recording rooms and others features.”
Aravindan said he believes that having such a nice facility available to students will encourage and enable them to do better in school, as well attract more hard-working students to the institution in the future.
