Dear 100 Hour Board,
What are in the vaults of the HBLL? I hear it is the most protected spot on campus.
– Curious
Dear Curious,
I’ve been in there. If you really want to know hands-on what takes place in the archives and special collections, find time and sign up for Honors Civilization 201 & 202 from Master Librarian Scott Duvall. Your classroom is the Special Collections mini-auditorium. Your texts are books from the vaults. 201 is listed as Ancient and Medieval Manuscripts; 202 is listed as The Printing Revolution (or similar). I loved them both.
Along with handling some old-time everything, Duvall also secured permission somehow to take us (the class, including two board writers) on a field trip through the vaults. I was impressed. Security? If you hold one of the access doors open too for too much time, the whole place goes on lockdown: suppression systems, alarms, closed doors everywhere and more. How much time is too long? I recall it being around 30 seconds, probably less. It is cool. Myself, certainly the other Board writer (who’s staying nameless), and my two roommates that took the class all agree: It’s worth it. There are great advantages to carrying a $10 bill in one’s pocket.
What else is in there? The university or the LDS Church has received something from someone famous.
Jimmy Stewart’s personal collection, copies of all OS Card’s works, likely Gerald Lund’s writings and
others. Everything you’ll see in the Motion Picture Archive Series. All the old documents and papers and
photographs about BYU. Five English-language 1830 edition Book of Mormons, several other language first editions. Old illustrated, hand-penned Bibles (plus many old, printed ones, including the “Breeches” and “Sinner’s” versions; ask a question about those sometime). Physics and astronomy books by Copernicus,
Brahe, and Kepler (that’s just the Anglo side too; we could get into a lot more in the languages I can’t
read). It is not exaggerated. That little piece of ground under Brigham Square is the one of the most expensive parcels of property the Church possesses. Think about that the next time you walk over it. In a very real way, you are treading your own path across the pages of history. Do you like what you’re writing?
– Untimely
