The first time I located D.H. Hill Library on the campus map, I was a little dismayed. The majority of my classes are on Centennial Campus, and I expect them to remain so in the coming years. Having the library on what is practically the opposite side of campus did not appear to me as very convenient.

Coming from a university where the science and engineering library is next door to where the classes are held, I am used to the multiple advantages of having the library close by. In between classes, you can drop by the library and read up a topic, or have a convenient and quiet study area. And with the availability of workstations and printers, you get serviced at multiple levels.  

The Centennial Campus is currently served by the Burlington Textiles Library. Yet, the majority of science and engineering books, along with facilities like group study rooms, are still at D.H. Hill. If you know the book you want, you can still pick it up at the Centennial Campus branch of the library by placing a request. However, if you want to browse the shelves or look up a course reserve book, you have to go to D.H. Hill. You will also have to spend at least 30 minutes to travel between campuses.

I cheered when I heard of the James B. Hunt Jr. Library being built on Centennial Campus. The facilities are nothing short of impressive. With easy access to book collections, the library also offers space for students and even hosts the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI), a think-and-do tank. The new library is going to host the engineering, textiles and part of the sciences collection at N.C. State.  The only hiccup in the story is that the completion is still more than a year away. Considering the fact Centennial Campus is still new in terms of the University’s lifetime, and various branches and departments are still in the process of moving to Centennial, the hiccup can be easily overlooked.

I look forward to the day when Hunt is completed, and I can access books more easily and use the library’s robotic automated retrieval system. Not only will I be excited, but so will the thousands of students, researchers and faculty that will certainly have access to the tools they need.