Last week, a collection of artwork created by the NC State University Libraries staff was displayed in the Cyma Rubin Visualization Gallery and the Teaching and Visualization Lab. The event allowed staff to show their creativity outside of work. 

Shaun Bennett, a research librarian for business, education and immersive pedagogy, said this year’s art show featured a wide range of pieces and art skills.

“[The show] includes everything from music to crayons to woodworking to wood burning,” Bennett said. “It’s a really wide breadth of skills, … a showcase of art in the widest possible sense, created by those who work in the libraries here at NC State.”

In previous years, the display was physical, but it was switched to digital to make it more accessible.

Jordan Booth, a support service associate for the Operations, Logistics and Environment Department, said the event included displays of any visual art that could be projected. 

“Basically any kind, any form of art or creative expression that you can think of, that we can put on a screen or we’re able to listen to, or we can incorporate it into a show that you can go in and view,” Booth said. “…To use the new video studio and make it a little bit more accessible for people that have art of different mediums.”

Bennett said another reason for changing to digital was so that the art could be displayed in both D.H. Hill Jr. Library and Hunt Library. 

“We just switched digital and then I realized I could do it in both locations at once,” Bennett said. “Make it a little more accessible because, of course, half our staff are over at Hunt.”

Booth said the event gave an outlet for staff to express their creativity. 

“We all have really different job titles,” Booth said. “There’s a lot of us here, but kind of the one thing that brings us together is we are super creative, and we all like to learn. We have a lot of people in the library that are super creative, and in their professional line of work, they don’t really have the means to express that.” 

The event was also an opportunity for students to relax and enjoy the art.  

“We all need something to help us unwind and relax, and we need points of joy,” Bennett said. 

In the future, they hope to keep the event growing and eventually turn it into a permanent establishment. 

“We’re hoping that it’ll grow into something bigger,” Booth said. “We’re actually working with a group of people that are hoping to put in a permanent installation of the art.”

An event with physical materials, such as live music, is also something they would want to try. 

“I’d like to explore doing a one day event with physical materials again,” Bennett said. “We can try live music, things like that, but we’ll see where it goes.” 

In addition to showcasing the library staff’s creativity and artwork, each year the Library Staff Art Show also gives the campus community an opportunity to remember that everyone’s talents and skills should be appreciated and celebrated. 

“We work behind the scenes to keep things going, so it’s cool to be able to get out and interact with the public, kind of show them the cool, cool things that we do,” Booth said.