D.H. Hill Jr. Library houses the Cyma Rubin Visualization Gallery, a Makerspace and more, providing important and accessible technology to enhance education and promote student success.

Colin Keenan, university library specialist in learning spaces and services, has been at Hill Library since 2017 and prepares suitable learning environments for students. 

Keenan said NC State’s Visualization Gallery is set up to create a visually immersive experience.

“The room is a 360-screen projection space that contains eight projectors to be in concert to project media around the room,” Keenan said, “It can project pre-rendered content, slideshows, presentations and visual elements — specifically simulations of the oceans, displaying a slideshow of NC State’s history, a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during segregation, games, etc.” 

Keenan elaborated on the role of Hill Library and why it is important to utilize these materials. 

“We understand that students may not have within their student living accommodations the accessibility to have a space required for an activity or the start-up cost that an individual student would incur,” Keenan said. “The library has an essential role to expose students to media and learning experiences by providing spaces like the visualization studio and 3D printing.” 

Ian Boyd, university library specialist in learning spaces and services, explained the role of the 3D scanner located on the second floor of the library. 

“[Virtual reality] and 3D scanning are pretty different technologies but can be integrated together,” Boyd said. “It creates this immersive environment that gives a surreal opportunity to learn and create.” 

Boyd said these technologies are an effective aid to learning in any discipline. 

“The main thing is to think about how you can use and apply it,” Boyd said. “In the humanities, you can use it as an artifact tool, and in engineering it can be used as a measurement tool. However, either way is a new advancement towards furthering the use of your education.”  

Keenan said the library staff is available to help students take advantage of these resources.

“Anyone who is new to campus or returning should stop by their library,” Keenan said. “All of these dedicated making spaces, whether it’s the studios or digital media production spaces, have a consultation to help students learn how to use these resources. Our team is excited to meet with individuals and dedicates time to help students just discuss ideas.” 

Boyd said some students are hesitant to explore these technologies, but anyone who wants to is capable of learning. 

“I encourage people just to come by,” Boyd said. “This is a technology that is used for the benefit of people and used to make lives easier. If you feel like you can’t do this, you probably can and get mileage out of this. Technology like this is not going anywhere, and anyone can learn.” 

Boyd said the technologies at the libraries enhance education in new and interesting ways.  

“The role and importance of libraries is to provide a place of digital knowledge and archives,” Boyd said. “For a long time, libraries were used just for copying and scanning, but it’s important to recognize new ways to digitize artifacts and materials to achieve the next step of having a new form of learning, like analyzing a 3D printed artifact that would have just been on paper.” 

Keenan said the library resources can also help students become well-rounded individuals.

“NC State is one of the most interdisciplinary universities,” Keenan said. “As people on campus here, we might overlook interdisciplinary opportunities when focused on our pathway. However, spending time at your library not only helps an individual learn but opens a hub to let individuals grow and meet people to gain a community.” 

Boyd and Keenan said they encourage students who are interested in jobs surrounding customer service to apply to these spaces — technology knowledge is not required.

Keenan said whether you are an incoming freshman or have been on campus for three years, it is not too late to discover these spaces. 

“With over 30,000 students being a part of the Pack, we are not able to meet everyone unless they take the first step and tell us what they’re interested in,” Keenan said. “We’re very happy to go through the process.” 

Visit the libraries’ website for more information on the Visualization Gallery, Makerspace consultants and University Libraries jobs.