Planning for the Hunt Library began in January 2008 and continued through August of the same year.
Norwegian design firm Snøhetta, best known for their work on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, served as lead designer while Raleigh-based Pearce Brinkley Cease & Lee (now Clark Nexsen) was hired as executive architect.
Groundbreaking took place on October 23, 2009.

A major impetus for the library's construction was to reduce the university's "seating gap," the numerical difference between actual study space in campus libraries and NCSU's goal of providing seats for 20% of the student population.
When the project's budget was cut by $11 million in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007-08, the bookBot was one of several innovations to emerge, enabling architects to design a smaller building without sacrificing seating.
The completed library building covers more than 221,000 square feet (20,500 m²), is 88 feet (27 m) high at its tallest point, and its five floors can hold 1,700 students.

Contemporary design is visible in both the building design and furnishings.
A wide variety of table and chair designs are mixed throughout the floors (variations of Egg Chairs, Ball Chairs, and Panton Chairs, for example).
The Thos.
Moser furniture company designed a chair specifically for use in the library called the Hunt Chair, a variation of the Regent design.

In 2013 the Library received an AIA/ALA (American Institute of Architects and American Library Association) Library Building Award.
Planning for the Hunt Library began in January 2008 and continued through August of the same year. Norwegian design firm Snøhetta, best known for their work on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, served as lead designer while Raleigh-based Pearce Brinkley Cease & Lee (now Clark Nexsen) was hired as executive architect. Groundbreaking took place on October 23, 2009.
A major impetus for the library's construction was to reduce the university's "seating gap," the numerical difference between actual study space in campus libraries and NCSU's goal of providing seats for 20% of the student population. When the project's budget was cut by $11 million in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007-08, the bookBot was one of several innovations to emerge, enabling architects to design a smaller building without sacrificing seating. The completed library building covers more than 221,000 square feet (20,500 m²), is 88 feet (27 m) high at its tallest point, and its five floors can hold 1,700 students.
Contemporary design is visible in both the building design and furnishings. A wide variety of table and chair designs are mixed throughout the floors (variations of Egg Chairs, Ball Chairs, and Panton Chairs, for example). The Thos. Moser furniture company designed a chair specifically for use in the library called the Hunt Chair, a variation of the Regent design.
In 2013 the Library received an AIA/ALA (American Institute of Architects and American Library Association) Library Building Award.
James B. Hunt Jr. Library