In an effort to offset funding losses due to the economic pitfalls plaguing the state since 2009, NCSU Libraries has created a fund to help the growth of the James B. Hunt, Jr . Library.
Currently in the midst of its construction on Centennial Campus, the library project is well on its way to completion. According to David Hiscoe , director of communication strategies for NCSU Libraries, a $10 million fundraising initiative has begun to ensure the project’s success.
“There are three different funds with this initiative,” Hiscoe said. “One is to enhance the spaces themselves [in the library]. The second is the technology enhancements—it’s going to be filled with really nice technology and the extra money will help us go beyond what the state has allotted for it,” Hiscoe said. “Those would be a part of the monies donors give us that we can spend directly on those pieces.”
However, Hiscoe said the last of the three funds—a $5 million endowment for the library—will not be spent as quickly as the other two, as it is meant to help sustain the library well into the future.
According to Hiscoe , the other $5 million will be split between the other two funds, with space enhancement projects receiving $2 million and technological improvements receiving $3 million over a 10-year time period.
The money given by the General Assembly will cover all costs of construction, but Hiscoe said donor money would help to make the Hunt library more unique.
“The General Assembly gave the library $126 million three years ago, and then took back $10.7 million in the 2009 budget crisis. So [the cost] will be between $115 million and $116 million total just for the construction,” Hiscoe said. “The donors would be putting that little extra green on the plate that will turn [the library] from a great building to a really, really great building.”
Hiscoe said the project itself has had almost no obstacles—other than having to create the fund to recuperate losses from the financial crisis that set the project back $10 million—since its groundbreaking two years ago.
“The construction is going great—it’s right on-time. We’re going to open it up probably sometime in early January 2013,” Hiscoe said. “The outside is pretty much finished. They haven’t put the fence on the outside yet, and once that’s done we’ll have an extremely neat-looking building. [Construction] has gone incredibly smoothly. It couldn’t have gone any better so far.”
According to Hiscoe , the project’s lack of construction problems means the Hunt library—scheduled to be structurally complete sometime next fall—is one step closer to providing students with the library spaces they need.
“N.C . State has needed more library space for so long. The UNC System says that we should be able to seat 20 percent of our students. We can seat less than five percent here now,” Hiscoe said.
Among the many features of the Hunt library are 100 bookable study rooms for students, five electronic display areas featuring student artwork, and a gaming lab for students who need to unwind as well as for the use of the University’s gaming program, according to Hiscoe .
“This will be a spectacular building,” Hiscoe said. “There’s been a real need for it, and we’ve managed to get the best.”
