Harold B. Lee Library

The HBLL traces its roots to the late 19th century. Karl G. Maeser, who served as principal of Brigham Young Academy (the precursor to BYU) from 1876 to 1892,{{cite book |last1= Bergera |first1= Gary James |last2= Priddis |first2= Ronald |year= 1985 |chapter= Chapter 1: Growth & Development |chapter-url= http://signaturebookslibrary.org/?p=13862 |title= Brigham Young University: A House of Faith |place= Salt Lake City |publisher= Signature Books |isbn= 0-941214-34-6 |oclc= 12963965 }}{{cite web |last1=Embry |first1=Jessie |title=MAESER, KARL G. |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/m/MAESER_KARL.shtml |publisher=Utah History Encyclopedia |access-date=5 April 2025}} had a collection of books in his office that served as the first semblance of a library at the school. In 1891, the collection moved out of the principal's office and into a room in the Education Building on the lower part of campus.

File:BYU HGB.jpg.]]

In 1925, the collection became a proper library with its own dedicated building when the Heber J. Grant Library (known later as the Heber J. Grant Building) was completed.{{cite news|title=Dignitaries Break Ground for New Library Addition|url=https://basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542058/the_daily_herald/|access-date=7 June 2017|work=The Daily Herald|date=30 October 1974|page=5}} By the 1950s, the collection along with the needs of the university's students had grown substantially, and planning began for a new facility.{{Cite archival metadata|author = Finding aid authors: Nancy V. Young and Robert L. Young|title = Lorenzo Snow Young papers, 1830s-1970s|url = http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv27923#ID5RKDETBMXHALG04SQHP5GRUH1DCWXEUJS1ZBEXJMPZ0BINJGOAZM|repository = University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections|location = Salt Lake City, UT|date = 1998|access-date = June 12, 2017}}

In 1961, the library collection moved into a newly built facility and renamed the J. Reuben Clark Library, after J. Reuben Clark, a prominent LDS Church leader who also served as the 7th United States Under Secretary of State.{{cite book |last1=Quinn |first1=D. Michael |title=Elder Statesman: A Biography of J. Reuben Clark |date=2002 |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City |isbn=1-56085-155-4}}{{cite web |last1=Gessel |first1=David |title=Clark, Joshua Reuben, Jr. |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CLARK_J_REUBEN.shtml |publisher=University of Utah Press |access-date=11 April 2025}}{{cite news|title=BYU Library Makes Great Strides, But Needs to Speed Up Book Acquisitions|url=http://basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542716/growth_in_60s/|access-date=8 June 2017|work=The Daily Herald|date=9 April 1969}} The library's collection reached 500,000 volumes in 1965,{{cite news|title='Friends of the BYU Library' Will Promote Institution|url=http://basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542521/500000_volumes_in_1965/|access-date=7 June 2017|work=The Sunday Herald|date=3 October 1965}} and it began offering a dial-up access system in 1969 for patrons to access music, lectures, and foreign language recordings.

In 1973, BYU opened a law school, also naming it after Clark. To avoid confusion with the school on campus, the library changed its name to the HBLL in honor of Harold B. Lee, the 11th LDS Church president.{{cite web |last1=Boam |first1=Rodney |title=Harold B. Lee: Church president a Clifton native |url=https://www.hjnews.com/ldsliving/harold-b-lee-church-president-a-clifton-native/article_7f29153a-d894-11e4-a891-ff77f83e73cc.html |publisher=Adams Publishing Group |access-date=5 April 2025}} 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.{{cite news|title=Dignitaries Break Ground for a New Library Addition|url=http://basic.newspapers.com/clip/11542123/new_hbll_addition_groundbreaking/|access-date=7 June 2017|work=The Daily Herald|date=30 October 1974}}{{cite news|title=Six-Story Addition: BYU Library Progress Told|url=https://basic.newspapers.com/clip/11543511/1976_addition_finishing/|access-date=7 June 2017|date=10 August 1976|page=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.{{cite news|title=Sculptured Panels at 'Y' Library|url=http://basic.newspapers.com/clip/11640376/|access-date=12 June 2017|work=The Daily Herald|date=10 March 1977}}

File:Harold B. Lee Library 2021.jpg

In 1999, the L. Tom Perry Special Collections wing of the library was added, with contents at the time valued at $153 million.{{cite web |title=Special Wing of BYU Library To Honor LDS Apostle Perry |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?itype=storyID&id=100F2C58C00F9AB7 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=11 April 2025}}{{cite web |title=Brigham Young University Library |url=http://www.celebratingresearch.org/libraries/brighamyoung/index.html |publisher=Association of Research Libraries |access-date=11 April 2025}} In 2014, the library was named one of the "25 Most Used Digital Libraries in the Country".{{cite web |last1=Price |first1=Gary |title=Fast Facts: The Top Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Hubs, Partners, and Other Usage Statistics |url=https://www.infodocket.com/2014/05/20/fast-facts-the-top-10-digital-public-library-of-america-dpla-hubs-and-other-usage-statistics/ |publisher=Library Journal |access-date=4 April 2025}} HBLL became a member of the Association of Research Libraries,{{cite journal |last1=Wilson, Frazier, and Harter |title=Circulation Policies in Major Academic Libraries |journal=Journal of Academic Libriarianship |date=November 2015 |volume=41 |issue=6 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0099133315001779}}{{cite web |title=List of ARL Members |url=https://www.arl.org/list-of-arl-members/#B |publisher=Association of Research Libraries |access-date=5 April 2025}} and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, BYU shut down part of the library because students weren’t in compliance with the school's mask policies.{{cite web |last1=Tabin |first1=Sarah |title=BYU temporarily closes part of library because students didn’t wear masks |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/11/13/byu-temporarily-closes/ |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=11 April 2025}}

The HBLL is located at the center of BYU's main campus. It has 6 floors,{{cite web |last1=Washburn & Bibb |title=Students Studying Students:An Assessment of using Undergraduate Student Researchers in an Ethnographic Study of Library Use |url=https://lirgjournal.org.uk/index.php/lir/article/view/287/496 |publisher=University of Alberta Library |access-date=4 April 2025}} with 98 miles of shelving, more than 6 million items and a seating capacity of 4,600 people.{{unreliable source?|date=September 2024}} It serves over 10,000 patrons each day,{{cite web |title=Expanding Library Capabilities: How Brigham Young University Uses SirsiDynix APIs and Web Services to Support Powerful Custom Applications |url=https://www.sirsidynix.com/case_study/expanding-library-capabilities-how-brigham-young-university-uses-sirsidynix-apis-and-web-services-to-support-powerful-custom-applications/ |publisher=Sirsi Dynix |access-date=4 April 2025}}{{unreliable source?|date=September 2024}} and it features a writing center, a cafe, a media center, a family friendly study room, individual and group study rooms, a family history library, and various collections including a special vault area for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library. The library is a CONSER (Cooperative Serials) program liaison for the U.S. Library of Congress, serving as an "authoritative source for bibliographic records, documentation, and training materials for serials cataloging".{{cite web |title=CONSER Liaisons |url=https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/conser/contact/opafen.html |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=4 April 2025}}

Image:SpecialCollection inside.JPG, housed inside the Harold B. Lee Library]]

The HBLL includes a family history library, the Primrose International Viola Archive,{{cite web |url=https://www.americanviolasociety.org/piva/ |title=Primrose International Viola Archive |access-date=2025-04-11 |publisher=American Viola Society}}{{cite web |last1=Jayswal |first1=Palak |title=David Dalton, music professor who turned BYU into ‘the epicenter of all things viola,’ dies at 88 |url=https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2023/01/04/david-dalton-music-professor-who/ |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=11 April 2025}} and the International Harp Archives.{{cite web |url=http://www.harpsociety.org/conference/summer03.html |title= 15th National Competition & Anne Adams Awards Auditions |access-date=2008-05-15 |publisher =American Harp Society|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071102141741/http://www.harpsociety.org/conference/summer03.html |archive-date = November 2, 2007}}{{cite web |title=WHC Archives |url=https://worldharpcongress.com/archives/ |publisher=World Harp Congress |access-date=11 April 2025}} It also has a special vault area for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library,{{cite book |last1=Rinaldy |first1=Caroline |title=Trends in Rare Book & Documents Special Collections Management |date=2008 |publisher=Primary Research Group Inc. |isbn=1-57440-095-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=E_3NFqJD_PwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=L.+Tom+Perry+Special+Collections&ots=UOxxT8Bgi0&sig=YczbLXQY_3YRCwbdvlSOzmH_1eU#v=onepage&q=L.%20Tom%20Perry%20Special%20Collections&f=false |access-date=8 May 2025}} which contains various religious texts including a 17th century Old Norse Bible,{{cite web |title=400-year-old Bible donated to BYU |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?itype=NGPSID&id=8504004 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=11 April 2025}} and a variety of film-related items including Oscar statuettes and a Cecil B. DeMille collection.{{cite web |title=BYU Gets Collection of Oscar Winner |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?itype=storyID&id=101130CAC19F2831 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=11 April 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Hartmann |first1=Al |title=BYU parts the sea for new 'Ten Commandments' release |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?itype=CMSID&id=51483039 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=11 April 2025}}

• University libraries in the United States

{{Reflist|30em}}

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

• [http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ Scholars Archive], an open repository for BYU theses, dissertations, and journals
• [http://www.byutv.org/watch/4f3e1420-e270-4fdf-b761-538184574817/backstage-byu-byu-library Backstage documentary about HBLL]

{{Brigham Young University}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:University and college academic libraries in the United States

BYU Library

Category:Libraries in Utah

Library, Harold B. Lee

Category:Libraries established in 1925

Category:Library buildings completed in 1961

Category:Library buildings completed in 1976

Category:Library buildings completed in 2000

Category:Brigham Young University buildings

Category:1961 establishments in Utah