Inside the L. Tom Perry special collections

Special Collections at BYU houses some of the rarest and most interesting items the library has to offer.

Trevor Alvord is one of Special Collections curators.

I curate the 21st-Century Latter-day Saints and Western Americana Print Collection, Alvord said.

Much of the collection is available for the general public to see and even hold in their hands.

We are much more open to anybody and everybody coming to use this content, Alvord said.

Alvord said his favorite piece in the archives is an original drawing from the only Book of Mormon story comic ever published by a major comic publishing house.

The archives also include other rare items, including a first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon.

We try really hard to put materials into the hands of students so that they can physically touch them and see them, he said.

The collection also contains a one-of-a-kind illuminated manuscript dating back several hundred years.

The condition is amazing, Alvord said.

Manuscripts of this kind were made from animal skin and painstakingly illustrated by skilled artists.

Organizing the vast holdings of Special Collections takes time, skill and a wide variety of responsibilities.

Payton Brown is a student employee at the Harold B. Lee Library.

Helping at the circulation desk, helping patrons use the reading room, or Im back here in the workroom either shelving materials, pulling materials or working on the scanner for patrons who request digital copies, he said.

As amazing as the items in the archives are, employees said the best part of the job is the people.

They take that talent and they take that energy, and they devote it to the gospel, Alvord said.