N.C. A&T Bluford Library Receives Grant to Launch Library Data Lab

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 3, 2025) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s F.D. Bluford Library has received a $115,557 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the State Library of North Carolina to launch The Library Data Lab.

One of 41 grants awarded for 2025-26, this grant will help create a first-of-its-kind space at N.C. A&T — a centrally located, open-to-all-majors, library-based hub for advanced data analysis, support and instruction.

This is one of the first initiatives of Bluford’s Digital Scholarship and Research Data Services department formed in 2024. Thomas W. Patterson, Ph.D., assistant professor and data and visualization librarian, will serve as the grant’s principal investigator and lead the launch of the lab.

“I am excited for the F.D. Bluford Library to offer these data services to the greater university community to help develop new data and visualization skills for all campus users,” said Patterson. “Computer labs of this caliber are often only housed in advanced STEM-related programs. This lab will make data analysis and visualization software and trainings more accessible to the broader campus. Libraries have always served as sources of information and innovation, and the Library Data Lab is a bold library initiative that will advance and elevate our campus research impact.”

The Library Data Lab, to be located on the lower level of Bluford Library, will offer new technology and software for advanced data analysis and visualization. The lab will also offer holistic instruction — not only on the specific technology and software in the lab, but also on data analysis itself. Instructors will be able to work with the data lab to embed their courses and researchers can use the tools and receive training at all levels, from introductory through advanced. There is an anticipated soft launch of the data lab in 2025, with the lab operating at increased capacity in 2026.

A team from the William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, based at N.C. State, will serve as independent evaluators for the lab.

The grant is part of a larger library initiative to increase support for data. Whether a researcher is looking for data management planning, instruction in data analysis, access to large data sets, or other purposes, this lab will facilitate those needs.

While similar library data labs exist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, A&T’s will serve as a model for peer historically Black colleges and universities and plans to disseminate its model in the future.

 “We are thrilled that this grant will further advance our teaching, learning and research mission through skills development that elevates our research profile and is available to everyone,” said Vicki Coleman, MILS, dean of Library Services. “The library is the largest classroom on our campus, and a resource like the digital lab will have a profound impact on the academic experience. Dr. Patterson is the perfect person to lead this initiative and I am excited to see it come to fruition.”

Patterson came to A&T in 2024 following teaching and administrative positions in Guilford County Schools and at UNC-Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina-Greensboro and University of Southern Mississippi. His teaching and research interests include data science, data visualization, Geographic Information Systems, tree-ring science and forest ecology. He has published and presented his work nationally and has garnered significant funding for his research. He holds a B.A. in environmental studies, M.A. in applied geography and Ph.D. in geography, all from UNCG.

Bluford Library supports and advances teaching, learning and research at A&T through user-focused services, technologies, and physical and virtual learning spaces. It endeavors to be an essential leader and partner in the university’s pursuit of transformative learning and teaching, interdisciplinary research, innovative solutions to global challenges and civic outreach.

LSTA grants are investments that help libraries deliver relevant and up-to-date services for their communities. This program is supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (IMLS grant number LS-253645-OLS-23). LSTA grants are investments that help libraries deliver relevant and up-to-date services for their communities.