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{{short description|Main campus library for Brigham Young University}}{{good article}}

factoids

| num_branches = PUBLISHER=BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, 12 June 2017, PUBLISHER=BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, 12 June 2017, | pop_served = Brigham Young University| budget = TITLE=RICK ANDERSON NAMED UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN AT BYU WEBSITE=NEWS ACCESS-DATE=13 JULY 2021 DATE=2 JULY 2020, | num_employees = 376 (2016)lib.byu.edu/}}}}The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president’s office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Grant Library building was completed in 1925, and in 1961 the library moved to the newly constructed J. Reuben Clark Library where it stands today. That building was renamed to the Harold B. Lee Library in 1974.WEB, History of the Library,lib.byu.edu/about/history/, BYU Library, Brigham Young University, 27 August 2020, The library was significantly expanded in the 1990s, providing new individual and group study rooms and a special vault area for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library. In 2016, the library contained over 4.7 million books, 10.6 million total materials, and served over 10,000 patrons each day. The library was ranked by the Princeton Review within the top three university libraries in the United States four times: in 2004, 2007, 2012, and 2023.WEB, Best College Library {{!, The Princeton Review |url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=best-college-library |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=www.princetonreview.com |language=en}}

History

(File:BYU HGB.jpg|thumb|Heber J. Grant Library, now a testing center) A collection of books in Karl G. Maeser’s office served as the first library at Brigham Young Academy. In 1891, the library moved to a room in the Education Building in the lower campus, which expanded to include Room D about 1906.{{rp|7}} George Q. Cannon and Reed Smoot helped to acquire documents from the U.S. Department of the Interior and congressional documents.{{rp|15}} A fire in 1884 destroyed at least forty volumes of the collection.{{rp|15}} Students rarely checked out books in the early 1900s, generally studying books in the library instead.{{rp|30}} The Dewey Decimal Classification system was introduced to the library in 1908.{{rp|32}}English professor Alice Louise Reynolds helped raise funds to purchase over 1,000 books for the library. She was the faculty chair of a committee to establish the library from 1906 to 1925.WEB, Alice Louise Reynolds, Brigham Young Academy High School Class of 1890, Brigham Young High School Alumni,www.byhigh.org/Alumni_P_to_T/Reynolds/AliceLouise.html, 2009-12-07, The library contained 29,592 volumes by 1923—almost half of them donated—and students had to stand in the library for lack of study space Reynolds’ fan club donated over 10,000 volumes in the 1930s.JOURNAL, McClellan, Jeff, A Lingering Influence: Top 10 BYU Professors of the 20th Century, BYU Magazine, 1999,magazine.byu.edu/article/a-lingering-influence/, 29 February 2016, By 1946, the library contained 138,500 volumes of books.{{rp|47}}The Heber J. Grant Library was completed in 1925.NEWS, Dignitaries Break Ground for New Library Addition,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542058/the_daily_herald/, 7 June 2017, The Daily Herald (Utah), The Daily Herald, 30 October 1974, 5, In the Grant Library, reference books were placed on shelves surrounding the study area, with the rest of the library’s holdings on shelves in the book room. Students would find books they wanted in the catalog, and library pages would retrieve them.{{rp|10; 56}}The library increased the volume of acquisitions during the 1930s and 1940s, and gifts of books were indiscriminately accepted.{{rp|108}} This policy changed in 1958, when gifts became subject to a consultation with the Director of Libraries,{{rp|117}} S. Lyman Tyler. In his time as director from 1954 to 1966, Tyler met Keyes Metcalf at a seminar for library administrators. Metcalf was the former director of the Harvard Library, and consulted with Tyler about the plans for BYU’s new library.ARCHIVAL METADATA, Finding aid authors: Nancy V. Young and Robert L. Young, Lorenzo Snow Young papers, 1830s-1970s,archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv27923#ID5RKDETBMXHALG04SQHP5GRUH1DCWXEUJS1ZBEXJMPZ0BINJGOAZM, University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections, Salt Lake City, UT, 1998, June 12, 2017, BYU commissioned Lorenzo Snow Young to make the plans for addition.ARCHIVAL METADATA, Finding aid authors: David J. Whittaker, Register of the S. Lyman Tyler Collection,files.lib.byu.edu/ead/XML/UA614.xml, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Provo, UT, 1984, June 12, 2017, The J. Reuben Clark Library was completed in 1961.NEWS, BYU Library Makes Great Strides, But Needs to Speed Up Book Acquisitions,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542716/growth_in_60s/, 8 June 2017, The Daily Herald, 9 April 1969, The library’s collection reached 500,000 volumes in 1965,NEWS, ‘Friends of the BYU Library’ Will Promote Institution,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542521/500000_volumes_in_1965/, 7 June 2017, The Sunday Herald, 3 October 1965, and one million volumes by 1971.{{rp|114}} The name of library changed in 1974 from the J. Reuben Clark Library to the Harold B. Lee Library to avoid confusion with the J. Reuben Clark Law School.{{rp|35}} Harold B. Lee was the 11th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.BOOK, Presidents of the Church Teacher Manual, 2005, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 345,www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/presidents-of-the-church-teacher-manual-religion-345/harold-b-lee-eleventh-president-of-the-church?lang=eng, A six-story addition was completed in 1976, doubling the library’s physical space and increasing the library’s seating capacity from 2,500 to 4,500.NEWS, Dignitaries Break Ground for a New Library Addition,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542123/new_hbll_addition_groundbreaking/, 7 June 2017, The Daily Herald, 30 October 1974, NEWS, Six-Story Addition: BYU Library Progress Told,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11543511/1976_addition_finishing/, 7 June 2017, 10 August 1976, 4, The addition had moveable walls, integrated student study spaces into the stacks, added group study rooms, and included a vault for archival materials. Art professor and artist Franz M. Johansen created four cast stone panels used to decorate the south entrance of the library and representing four areas of human knowledge.NEWS, Sculptured Panels at ‘Y’ Library,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11640376/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Herald, 10 March 1977, The HBLL was again expanded and remodeled in the mid– and late–1990s using donated funds,NEWS, Lester, Jenni, New library will have more to offer students,universe.byu.edu/1998/02/05/new-library-will-have-more-to-offer-students/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, adding {{convert|234000|sqft|m2}},NEWS, GROUNDBREAKING FRIDAY FOR BYU LIBRARY ADDITION,www.deseretnews.com/article/513219/GROUNDBREAKING-FRIDAY-FOR-BYU-LIBRARY-ADDITION.html?pg=all, 8 June 2017, DeseretNews.com, 14 September 1996, en, technology classrooms, an auditorium, and a digitization center.NEWS, Heap, Holly, Library opens new addition,universe.byu.edu/1999/08/10/library-opens-new-addition/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 10 August 1999, After the expansion, parts of the old library were remodeled, and the south entrance was closed. A new south entrance was opened in 2015.NEWS, Robinson, Izsie, South library entrance to come Fall 2015 – The Daily Universe,universe.byu.edu/2015/03/04/south-library-entrance-coming-fall-2015/, 8 June 2017, The Daily Universe, From 2001 to 2011, the Interlibrary Loan program processed 500,000 requests.NEWS, May, Kevin, Interlibrary Loan hits 500,000th request – The Daily Universe,universe.byu.edu/2011/10/25/interlibrary-loan-hits-500000th-request/, 8 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 25 October 2011, The library contained over 4.7 million books and served an average of 10,191 patrons a day during 2016. Single-user study rooms were added in 2017, and construction started on a family-friendly study room.NEWS, Ashby-Faulkner, Maurissa, 2017 brings big improvements to Lee Library – The Daily Universe,universe.byu.edu/2017/02/20/2017-brings-big-improvements-to-lee-library/, 8 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 20 February 2017,

Technological improvements

The HBLL started offering a dial-up access system in 1969 for patrons to access music, lectures, and foreign language recordings, and access to the Library Information Network Center (LINC) was offered in 1974. Through a keyword search, patrons could use the system to search bibliographic resources of articles and recent books from ProQuest Dialog and Orbit II.NEWS, ‘Y’ Library Service Speeds Research,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11640552/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Herald, 22 December 1974, The library adopted 3M Tattle-Tape in 1975 to detect if patrons were removing books from the library that had not been checked out.NEWS, Electronic Detection Device on the Job at Lee Library,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11640198/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Herald, 6 January 1975, 3, The library renamed their NOTIS cataloging system in 1984 to the Brigham Young University Information Network (BYLINE), and ran it on a mainframe computer located in the James E. Talmage Building.NEWS, Durlan, Carmen, Finding information easy on BYLINE,universe.byu.edu/1996/05/14/finding-informationrnneasy-on-byline/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 14 May 1996, The library collection began being re-catalogued in 1995 from the Dewey Decimal Classification system to a modified Library of Congress Classification.NEWS, Thompson, Marissa, Library begins cataloging, prepares for construction, The Universe, 27 June 1995, found in ARCHIVE, Cali, O’Connell, Textual record, 1993–2004,archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/byu-archives/resources/upb_ua1066, UA 1066, Harold B. Lee Library newsclippings collection, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, WEB, 4.7 Classification of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror {{!, Cataloging & Metadata {{!}} BYU Library |url=https://cataloging.lib.byu.edu/department-manual/classification/4-7-classification-of-science-fiction-fantasy-and-horror/ |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=Cataloging & Metadata}} A word processing center in the library made 25 computers available to students at the rate of $1 per hour in 1996.NEWS, Sanche, Ed, Upgraded Word Center now in library,universe.byu.edu/1996/01/26/upgraded-word-center-now-in-library/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 26 January 1996, In 1997, the library switched from using the DOS-based BYLINE to the Windows-based Horizon Automated Library Systems. The Horizon system allowed users to access online catalogs from other libraries, and used a client-server model.NEWS, Durlan, Carmen, No more BYLINE in Lee Library’s “Horizon,universe.byu.edu/1996/05/15/no-more-byline-in-lee-librarys-horizon/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 15 May 1996, The library contained 200 computers but only a portion of them had internet access in 1997.NEWS, Williams, Carrie, Remodeled library will have modern Internet reso,universe.byu.edu/1997/06/17/remodeled-libraryrnnwill-have-modernrnninternet-reso/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 17 June 1997, NEWS, Robertson, Melissa, BYU library now online,universe.byu.edu/1997/09/04/byu-library-now-online/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 4 September 1997, The library launched an online library catalog in 1998 after integrating the search system, providing online renewals and extending undergraduate checkout times.NEWS, McKim, Katie, BYU library offers new online features,universe.byu.edu/1998/08/31/byu-library-offers-new-online-features/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 31 August 1998, An electronic reserve system with an additional server was added in 1999.NEWS, Smurthwaite, Emily, Library catalog looking for better service,universe.byu.edu/1999/10/25/library-catalog-looking-for-better-service/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, The library added wireless internet access points to its study spaces in 2003.NEWS, Ashby, Angela, Wireless Internet connections now available in library hubs – The Daily Universe,universe.byu.edu/2003/10/28/wireless-internet-connections-now-available-in-library-hubs/, 8 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 28 October 2003,

Library instruction

(File:Harold B. Lee Library 2021.jpg|alt=a glass pyramid structure with a stone building dotted with windows situated behind it. A wide sidewalk and landscaping appears in front of the structure.|thumb|The Harold B. Lee Library in April of 2021)The HBLL instituted a summer program to certify students as school librarians in 1938, later offering the program during the school year. A class on bookbinding was taught during the 1940s.{{rp|62}} The BYU School of Library and Information Science was established in 1966 and re-accredited in 1978. It had about 50 graduates a year.NEWS, Library Science Master’s Degree Accredited at ‘Y’,basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542646/mls_program_at_byu/, 8 June 2017, The Daily Herald, 22 August 1976, 4, Prior to this program, Mary Elizabeth Downey taught a six-week class on the use of libraries.{{rp|35}} The School of Library and Information Science was closed in 1993, despite the program being in high demand. The closure occurred after the administration announced a renewed focus on undergraduate studies.NEWS, Patterson, Victoria, BYU Closing School for Librarians, The Universe, 8 July 1993, 1, found in ARCHIVE, Cali, O’Connell, Textual record, 1993–2004,archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/byu-archives/resources/upb_ua1066, UA 1066, Harold B. Lee Library newsclippings collection, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT,

Collections

The HBLL includes a family history library, the Primrose International Viola Archive,WEB,www.americanviolasociety.org/Resources/PIVA.php, Primrose International Viola Archive, 2016-01-14, American Viola Society, the International Harp Archives,WEB,www.harpsociety.org/conference/summer03.html, 15th National Competition & Anne Adams Awards Auditions, 2008-05-15, American Harp Society,www.harpsociety.org/conference/summer03.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20071102141741www.harpsociety.org/conference/summer03.html,">web.archive.org/web/20071102141741www.harpsociety.org/conference/summer03.html, November 2, 2007, and serves as a designated depository of government documents. The juvenile literature department opened its Lloyd Alexander Collection in January 2010, featuring items from the author’s home office for students and researchers to access.WEB,lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2009/12/19/the-harold-b-lee-library-to-celebrate-the-opening-of-the-lloyd-alexander-collection/, The Harold B. Lee Library to Celebrate the Opening of the Lloyd Alexander Collection, 2009-12-19, Harold B. Lee Library, 2015-01-25,

Special collections

The library’s special collections began in 1957 with 1000 books and 50 manuscript collections. A special vault and cold storage facility were built in 2000NEWS, Coxey, Michelle, Brinkerhoff, Allison, Library annex worth the wait for BYU,universe.byu.edu/1999/03/11/library-annex-worth-the-wait-for-byu/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, 11 March 1999, and the collection was formally named the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library.NEWS, Thornock, Janeal, Library named for Elder Perry,universe.byu.edu/2000/05/27/library-named-for-elder-perry/, 12 June 2017, The Daily Universe, The collection at the time contained over 8000 manuscript collections, 500,000 photographs, and 280,000 books. Notable items from the collection include a 1967 Bible illustrated by Salvador Dalí, a 13th-century Vulgate, a first edition Book of Mormon, and the papers of Cecil B. DeMille and Helen Foster Snow.WEB,magazine.byu.edu/article/collected-memory/, Collected Memory, 2008-05-15, Jeff, McClellan, 2001-06-01, BYU Magazine,

Foreign language collections

The HBLL houses collections in many foreign languages. The collection includes a Welsh library originally sponsored in 1951 by the National Gymanfa Association of the United States and Canada. The Icelandic Library Association of Spanish Fork donated their collection of Icelandic books in 1951.BOOK, Knight, Hattie, Brigham Young University Library Centennial History 1875-1975, 1976, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, {{rp|75}}

Religious influence on collections

Starting in 2004, R-rated movies were placed in the Faculty Use collection.NEWS, Forsyth, Jessica, R-rated movies from Harold B. Lee Library under tighter wrap – The Daily Universe,universe.byu.edu/2004/03/02/rrated-movies-from-harold-b-lee-library-under-tighter-wrap/, 8 June 2017, The Daily Universe, The Romance section includes a guide with ratings for the amount of sexual content in the books, and novels with explicit sexual material are not included in the collection.NEWS, Walch, Tad, Romance novels at BYU ‘tame’,www.deseretnews.com/article/595096149/Romance-novels-at-BYU-tame.html, 8 June 2017, Deseret News, 5 October 2004, en, 23 September 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180923175506/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/595096149/Romance-novels-at-BYU-tame.html, live, dmy-all,

Awards and recognition

In 2004, the Princeton Review ranked the HBLL as the number one college library,NEWS, Walch, Tad, Study gives Y. high marks,www.deseretnews.com/article/595084663/Study-gives-Y-high-marks.html, 8 June 2017, DeseretNews.com, 17 August 2004, en,web.archive.org/web/20180923185438/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/595084663/Study-gives-Y-high-marks.html, 23 September 2018, live, dmy-all, and as number three in 2007 and 2012.NEWS,www.deseretnews.com/article/695202901/Princeton-Review-rankings-for-BYU.html, Princeton Review rankings for BYU, 21 August 2007, Deseret Morning News, Deseret News, 15 June 2017, 24 November 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181124033624/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/695202901/Princeton-Review-rankings-for-BYU.html, live, dmy-all, NEWS, BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library Ranked 3rd in Nation,sites.lib.byu.edu/news/2007/09/04/byus-harold-b-lee-library-ranked-3rd-in-nation/, 12 June 2017, Library News, 4 September 2007,web.archive.org/web/20171108065101/https://sites.lib.byu.edu/news/2007/09/04/byus-harold-b-lee-library-ranked-3rd-in-nation/, 8 November 2017, live, dmy-all, WEB, BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library Ranked 3rd in Nation, Brigham Young University,universe.byu.edu/2012/02/05/harold-b-lee-library-ranked-top-3-in-princeton-review/, Hwa, Lee, 5 February 2012, 15 June 2017, 22 October 2016,universe.byu.edu/2012/02/05/harold-b-lee-library-ranked-top-3-in-princeton-review/," title="web.archive.org/web/20161022073037universe.byu.edu/2012/02/05/harold-b-lee-library-ranked-top-3-in-princeton-review/,">web.archive.org/web/20161022073037universe.byu.edu/2012/02/05/harold-b-lee-library-ranked-top-3-in-princeton-review/, live, dmy-all, The American Library Association awarded the HBLL with the Library Instruction Round Table 2017 Innovation in Instruction Award.WEB,www.ala.org/news/member-news/2017/05/brigham-young-university-s-harold-b-lee-library-recipient-lirt-2017-innovation, Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library Recipient of the LIRT 2017 Innovation in Instruction Award, 4 May 2017, American Library Association, 15 June 2017, 19 May 2017,www.ala.org/news/member-news/2017/05/brigham-young-university-s-harold-b-lee-library-recipient-lirt-2017-innovation," title="web.archive.org/web/20170519163833www.ala.org/news/member-news/2017/05/brigham-young-university-s-harold-b-lee-library-recipient-lirt-2017-innovation,">web.archive.org/web/20170519163833www.ala.org/news/member-news/2017/05/brigham-young-university-s-harold-b-lee-library-recipient-lirt-2017-innovation, live, dmy-all,

See also

• Education in Zion Gallery

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

{{commons category|Harold B. Lee Library}}

• Scholars Archive, an open repository for BYU theses, dissertations, and journals
• Backstage documentary about HBLL

{{Brigham Young University}}{{Authority control}}