Now Lending: The Apple Watch

Known for its role on NC State’s campus as a technology incubator, the NCSU Libraries lent its first Apple Watch yesterday afternoon to Rubia Arfeen, a senior in Biological Sciences. Much like it has for a range of technologies—from laptops to iPads to Arduinos to 3D scanners—NCSU Libraries is again leading the way.

When asked about the Libraries’ interest in lending Apple Watches, David Woodbury (Associate Head of User Experience) simply explained that “the students asked us to, and it is our goal to respond, in student-time, to their interests and research needs.” Woodbury also pointed out that the students and faculty at NC State are themselves creating the technologies of the future, and giving them access to the latest tools and devices inspires and facilitates their innovations.

Arfeen, who is on the pre-med track, recognized immediately a connection to her field: “I absolutely love the fact that I can check my heart rate at any point in the day. I’m interested in cardiology, and I check my pulse periodically throughout the day anyway, and this made it a lot easier.” But lending such devices is not meant solely for academic use, a fact not lost on Arfeen: “The camera app is my second favorite! You can use the watch to open it, and it’ll transmit what is showing on your phone’s camera! You can use the watch to take pictures!”

“This is an extension of what libraries have always done,” Woodbury noted. “Libraries democratize access to technology, making tools that may otherwise be difficult to afford available to students. We want as many students as possible to experience what these various technologies have to offer, and we love hearing from them about the exciting and creative ways they put these tools to use.”

Arfeen has already provided valuable feedback about the Apple Watch’s intuitive usability: “The face was easy to customize, and Siri works fine, as long as I’m connected to Wi-Fi.” For more about her experience with the Apple Watch, follow her blog posts right here all next week.

Learn more about the NCSU Libraries’ technology lending service here .