The Harold B. Lee Library is a beloved and highly utilized building on BYU's campus, but it took a few years to get to where it is today.
The BYU library is home to 4 million physical books and about 98 miles of shelving.
It's a massive collection that has required the library to move multiple times over the years as it grew, ensuring BYU students have access to everything they need.
The original Brigham Young Academy library was merely a shelf of books in Karl G. Maeser's office in the Lewis Building, the academy's first long-term schoolhouse.
After eight years of use, the Lewis building burned down in 1884.
Following a few years without a home, the library moved to a new academy building in 1892, now used as the Provo City Library. The academy library was stored in a room on the second floor.
As Brigham Young Academy grew and transitioned into Brigham Young University, the library began to exceed the space available in the Academy Building.
“To be a true research library, we needed to have enough books to show that we were supporting the curriculum,” Roger Layton, library communications manager, said. “So the library acquired more and more books to suit the needs that were required at that time.”
The Heber J. Grant Library was built on the university campus and dedicated in 1925. At the dedication, it was stated that the Board of Trustees named the building after President Grant due to all the books he had donated and his efforts to encourage reading in the community.
“When it outgrew that, they built the current library, and that's been added onto twice,” Layton said. “So the library grows to keep pace with the university.”
The J. Reuben Clark Library opened in 1961 with a capacity for 300,000 volumes.
The library was renamed in 1973 to honor President Harold B. Lee, who passed on the month before the dedication, and to distinguish it from the new J. Reuben Clark Law School, named to honor Clark’s career as a lawyer.
Two expansions have since been made to the library in 1976 and 2000.
During the 1976 expansion, there was a student who protested due to a tree they were particularly fond of.
“But then one day, lightning struck the tree, and that solved the problem for everyone. So everyone took that as a divine indication that the library should expand,” Layton said.
The library has only continued to expand and improve not only its massive physical resource base, but also its online database.
“One of the things that I love most about the library is that no matter what discipline you're in, you can come here and use our resources and our materials for whatever you want to create,” Emily Hreha, library auxiliary collections manager, said.
The library faculty and staff are dedicated to improving the building and making changes specifically for student preferences.
“We've looked at how students use the library and we've done some research,” Layton said. “Students really like to be near natural light, so we're reorganizing the library. We're moving library offices and library staff either underground or up to the top floor of the library. Then, as we renovate the building, we're giving students the prime space so that they can use it.”
The building can currently seat 5,000 people.
It receives more than 3 million patron visits a year and continues to grow in popularity.
“There's just so many people in the building, and they're welcome. We're just trying to make it as comfortable for them as we can,” Layton said.
From academic journals to historical archives, BYU students are not just welcome but encouraged to use the many resources the library offers.