Various members of the N.C. State community celebrated the formal opening of Hunt Library Wednesday, April 3.
Speakers including Marvin Malecha, dean of the College of Design, Chancellor Randy Woodson, Student Body President Andy Walsh and Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York, spoke about the library and its namesake, former Gov. James B. Hunt.
After the dedication, attendees were able to take tours of the library, which Malecha called the “new heart of Centennial Campus.”
Gregorian, former president of the New York Public Library, talked about the importance of libraries, even though they have some competition with new technology, like iPads.
“One still has to read, ladies and gentlemen,” Gregorian said. “One still has to listen and one still has to see with one’s own eyes. One still has to ponder ideas and discuss them with other people. One still has to think.”
Woodson also spoke about the importance.
“For many of us, the first experience at a library showed us the world was at our fingertips,” Woodson said. “We could learn just about anything on any topic by picking up a book from the stacks.”
Walsh focused on the library’s cutting edge technology.
“The library is very much about the future,” Walsh said. “Visualization labs immerse students in real-life situations, so whether you are reconstructing a crime scene or you are reliving a moment in history, you are using the latest and greatest technology.”
Woodson said Hunt is breaking the stereotype that libraries are just a place to be quiet and check a book out.
“This isn’t the library you grew up with,” Woodson said. “There are no ‘quiet please’ signs. This library beckons for innovation and collaboration.”
Walsh agrees that this library is something special with the addition of the game room and MicroTiles walls that displayed the ACC basketball games.
“How many libraries are actually fun?” Walsh asked the audience.
Woodson spoke about Hunt being a suitable person to dedicate the library to.
“Few have done for education in our state than Governor Hunt,” Woodson said. “I cannot think of a more fitting match than having his name on this remarkable educational resource for our state.”
Gregorian discussed the importance Hunt had on North Carolina education.
“Governor Hunt continued to do great things for North Carolinians, because he recognized that knowledge is the one source to progress, enlightenment and public power,” Gregorian said. “Education is the root to success, the only root.”
Malecha added that Hunt Library is the future of libraries.
“You will see for yourself the transformative model for the next generation of scholarship,” Malecha said.
An importance of the future is something that Hunt has shown us, according to Gregorian.
“You have to decide what you want to become, how you are going to preserve your ancestors, so you are training a nation in order to be good ancestors, and Governor Hunt has done that,” Gregorian said.
