Can you please share the evidence to support this claim? “library that will generate little to no ROI” Bonus points if it points to Cary’s library as the example.
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I’m getting the impression that maybe you need to read more. Imagine being so against a LIBRARY - a public good - being built.
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One of my favorite pastimes, way back when, was wondering through the book stacks at DH Hill to see what books would catch my attention.
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Sometimes you really can judge a book by its cover! I am a frequent Nice Price Books & Records shopper and will regularly pick up a book because the colors or art design of a book cover just catch my eye. Then, if its contents are interesting, I can’t help but add it to my collection. I’ve grown quite the library of my very own. This comment was mainly meant to plug Nice Price, FYI. 
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Same here, have not counted them but I would not be surprised it I have over 1,000 books from paperbacks to very nice leather bound classics. Buying books online is just not the same as browsing through book stores.
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I usually make it a point to visit a bookstore in just about every place I travel to.
However, I don’t go out of my way to visit libraries. Maybe it’s just a me thing, but I prefer a smaller environment where I can purchase a thing to take home with me. Can’t really borrow a book from a library in a foreign place.
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Which is why I’m all for any new bookstores in Raleigh - and try to support the current ones we have (Nice Price Sr and Jr, So & So, Readers Corner - what else?). But libraries are especially important for those that can’t afford to just buy new books they want to read all the time (though Nice Price has especially nice prices on used books).
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I’m not even the biggest fan of Hunt; I think it could’ve been way better, but I feel like this is mostly BS.
students don’t care for it.
Not true in the slightest. The library is wildly popular among the student body, at least when I was there. The few who complain about it on reddit are the kind of people who think glass is horrible because it’s an energy inefficient building material, grand atriums are “wasted space,” or an iconic building should look like everything on campus… boring and brick.
the furniture is custom, expensive,
With the exception of the Moser Chair, the furniture is not custom; it’s off the rack products, and much of it was acquired through private donations, so I’m not sure why the expense is a concern unless they plan to replace them with identical pieces. Comfort is subjective, but whenever I’ve taken family to visit, they’ve all gone down the line of chairs and marveled at how comfortable some of them are.
it is hard to find somewhere away from distractions
Hunt literally has dozens of private study rooms that you can book to study free from distractions, and I’ve never seen them full. There’s also a quiet reading room. I worked there regularly, and noise was never a problem.
it feels like an airport
Fair, but subjective. Maybe it just doesn’t feel like a library in Cary from 1980.
just a reminder that bold architecture can sometimes miss the mark in terms of utility.
Absolutely true; I just don’t think it’s the case here. The strength of Hunt is in the diversity of spaces. Want something open and social? It’s there. Intimate and quiet? Also there. And everything in between.
People sometimes feel alienated or uncomfortable when something doesn’t fit into their idea of what it has been in the past, or what it should be. And maybe that’s what’s happening here. But if we think the Hunt is too bold, maybe Raleigh isn’t ready for architecture that’s actually innovative.
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Don’t forget Dog Eared Books 
Love the suggestions for book shops. Let’s include it in this topic. (renaming thread)
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I keep tabs on their social media but have yet to visit in person! I really need to.
It is well worth a visit. Not as big as Edward McKay, but still pretty awesome IMO. But they are only open Friday and Saturday from 10-6. I will probably be heading that direction tomorrow myself.
Maybe Quail Ridge would pull the trigger on a DTR option at some point as momentum continues to rise…
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I think DTR needs a high-end used bookstore. Something along the lines of Jackson Street Booksellers in Omaha’s Old Market.
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I love Quail Ridge at North Hills’s (my English teachers taught me this way and I’m sticking with it) Lassiter location. I don’t even mind paying suggested retail pricing to support that place. It’s my image of what a book store should be.
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Somebody else can probably provide even greater detail about this than I can, but when Kane was building North Hills, the company went out of its way to woo Quail Ridge and convince them to relocate there. They really, really wanted Quail Ridge as a tenant because of how much people love it. I’ve gotten books there myself and I love shopping there.
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I was under the impression that the REI location was aimed at/intended for Borders Books.
Definitely feels like a bookstore layout in there.
Thanks for the point-by-point takedown! As I mentioned, I’ve never tried to actually study there; I’ve only visited (And did find it to be very impressive.) It was completed several years after the last class I took at NCSU, and I made my statements based on what I’d read on reddit.
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I’ve been a Hunt a few times to tutor NCSU students. So granted, I’m utilizing the space differently than the typical college student would be, but I’ve personally found it to be a really great library. And the relatively small sample of students I’ve worked with have spoken very highly of it. (In each case, the student specifically asked to use Hunt as the meeting place, suggesting that it was reasonably convenient.)
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