The J. Willard Marriott Library is the main academic library of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. The university library has had multiple homes since the first University of Utah librarian was appointed in 1850. The current building was opened in 1968 and named for J. Willard Marriott, founder of Marriott International, in 1969. After two major renovations, the building is more than and houses more than 4.5 million volumes. The

University of Utah Press The University of Utah Press is the independent publishing branch of the University of Utah and is a division of the J. Willard Marriott Library. Founded in 1949 by A. Ray Olpin, it is also the oldest university press in Utah. The mission of the ...

and Red Butte Press are divisions of the Marriott Library.

History

The first University of Utah librarian was appointed in 1850, the same year the school was founded. University president John R. Park opened a library and reading room stocked with his personal collection of books on loan to the university in 1874. The library moved to the LeRoy Cowles Building in 1900 and the George Thomas Library Building in 1935, both on Presidents Circle. The current five-story building was opened in 1968 and was named for J. Willard Marriott in 1969 when he contributed $1 million for library collections, the largest single contribution ever received by the university at that time. The library was expanded in 1996, which almost doubled the library's size, and was expanded again during a major renovation between 2005 and 2009. The purpose of this renovation was to improve the seismic stability of the building, provide clearer pathways through the building, improve environmental controls, and allow for more natural light. Several additions were also made to the building including an automated storage and retrieval system that can store up to 2 million items, a larger computer lab, additional classrooms and teaching labs, a new indoor café, a rooftop garden, and additional study areas including the George S. Eccles Grand Reading Room.

Collections

The library's Special Collections department collects, preserves, and makes available books, periodicals, documents, photographs, films, and original materials, particularly those documenting the history of Utah, the Mormons, the West, the Middle East, and the University of Utah. These collections include the papers of

Marriner Stoddard Eccles Marriner Stoddard Eccles (September 9, 1890 – December 18, 1977) was an American economist and banker who served as the 7th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1934 to 1948. After his term as chairman, Eccles continued to serve as a member o ...

Chairman of the Federal Reserve The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the Boa ...

from 1934 to 1938; David O. McKay, ninth President of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

;

Leonidas Ralph Mecham Leonidas Ralph Mecham (April 23, 1928 – March 9, 2019) was the former Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, having served in that position from 1985 to 2006. He was appointed to the position by United States Chief ...

, Director of the

Administrative Office of the United States Courts The Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) is the administrative agency of the United States federal court system, established in 1939. The central support entity for the federal judicial branch, the AO provides a wide range of l ...

from 1985 to 2006; and

Wallace Stegner Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, short story writer, environmentalism, environmentalist, and historian, often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U. ...

, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1972. Materials are accessible to all patrons, regardless of their status. The library hosts over 100 unique digital collections, many of which include items from Special Collections. Digital collections include USpace, Utah Digital Newspapers, the Western Soundscape Archive, and the Western Waters Digital Library. The library also hosts the Mountain West Digital Library, a digital collaborative program of the Utah Academic Library Consortium. The library provides access to

print on demand Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which book copies (or other documents, packaging or materials) are not printed until the company receives an order, allowing prints of single or small quantities. While oth ...

books via an

Espresso Book Machine The Espresso Book Machine (EBM) is a print on demand (POD) machine created by On Demand Books. It prints, collates, covers, and binds a single book in a few minutes. Introduced in 2007, EBM is small enough to fit in a retail bookstore or small ...

. The Aziz S. Atiya Middle East Library, which is located in the Marriott Library, is named after the founder of the University of Utah Middle East Center,

Aziz Suryal Atiya Aziz Suryal Atiya ( ar, عزيز سوريال عطية, ; July 5, 1898 – September 24, 1988) was an Egyptian Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies. Atiya was the founder of the In ...

, and is the fifth largest library for

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

studies in North America. The Katherine W. Dumke Fine Arts & Architecture Library collection includes

artist's book Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects. Overview Artists' books have employed a ...

catalogue raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s, sheet music, and other arts books and periodicals. Artwork in the library's collection includes pieces by Anna Campbell Bliss, a Salt Lake City-based artist.

References

External links

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Marriott Library Special Collections

Marriott Library Digital Collections
{{Authority control University and college academic libraries in the United States Buildings and structures at the University of Utah Libraries in Utah Library buildings completed in 1968 University and college buildings completed in 1968