The Provo City Library is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

serving residents of Provo and

Orem Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah M ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. It occupies the building of the former

Brigham Young Academy Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, which was built in 1892. In 1976, the building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. After a remodeling process, it was rededicated as the Provo City Library on September 8, 2001.

History of Library

Provo City Library was founded in 1905. It first opened in the basement of the Provo City courthouse in October of that year and operated until 1908. During its operation in the courthouse, it acquired 1,425 books donated by individuals in the community. Soon after that, the collection doubled to 3000 volumes by April 1908. On December 1, 1908, the library moved into a new building provided by a grant of $17,500 from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. Over the years, the library grew in size, by obtaining approximately 65,000 volumes and 125 periodical subscriptions.> In 1989, the library moved to another location, the City Center Building. Although it was bigger than before, it became inadequate within a couple of years. In February 1997 a $16 million library bond passed which allowed the library to move to a bigger location. The bond helped preserve and renovate the historic Brigham Young Academy building, which the library then occupied. On July 9, 1999, city officials broke ground to initiate renovations for the new library. On September 8, 2001 the library began full operations.

History of Academy Square

The Brigham Young Academy was one of the largest school buildings in the western

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

region, and could accommodate 1,000 students. The Principal of the Academy,

Karl G. Maeser Karl Gottfried Maeser (January 16, 1828 – February 15, 1901) was a prominent Utah educator and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served 16 years as principal of Brigham Young Academy. Although h ...

, designed the building with the help of

Don Carlos Young Joseph Don Carlos Young (May 6, 1855 – October 19, 1938) was an American architect and the Church Architect for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1887 until 1893. In 1893, the office of Church Architect was dissol ...

(son of Brigham Young) as architect. The Academy was located in Northern Provo. The name of the building has changed many times; in 1898, it was known as the High School Building, and in 1922 it was known as the Education Building, which it remained until 1968. The bell tower had no bell until 1912. Up until then a triangle hanging in the main hall was struck to signal classes. Unfortunately, the bell installed in 1912 was of poor manufacture and had a very dull sound. In 1919 the old Provo Tabernacle was razed and the nickel bell cast by the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore was installed in the Academy bell tower. The Brigham Young Academy would later become Brigham Young University. For the next 20 years, Academy Square remained vacant and slowly began to deteriorate. While real estate developers were eager to tear down the dilapidated buildings, Provo residents supported the preservation of the historic site. In 1997, a municipal bond and private donations financed the renovation of the Education Building; the other three buildings on Academy Square were demolished to make room for a parking garage. Fundraising and restoration efforts were spearheaded by BYU professor L. Douglas Smoot, who gained the moniker "the man who saved Academy Square." The groundbreaking ceremony occurred on July 9, 1999, and the Academy Building was rededicated as the Provo City Library on Sept. 8, 2001.

Facts

There are almost 285,000 books, magazines, and media in circulation available to Provo Library cardholders at the Provo City Library. The checkout period for all items is three weeks. Accounts are limited to 250 items at a time, which includes books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and other specialty items; however, there is no limit on the number of each kind of item. All items are renewable twice as long as there is no one on the waiting list for that specific item. The library hosts many events and programs for the community: * The Teen and Adult Summer Reading Program and Children's Summer Reading Program encourage young people to read throughout the summer months. * AuthorLink brings exciting, well-known authors to present at the Provo Library. Local and national authors are featured and have included Brandon Sanderson, Gene Luen Yang, Ally Condie, Cressida Cowell, Marissa Meyer, and Markus Zusak. * Fairy Tea is a popular formal tea party where young girls (and some adults) dress up as fairies. While some view it as a "mother-daughter" event (given the theme), fathers, brothers, and others are also welcome. The only limitations are that all guests must be over the age of 3, wear a fairy costume or Sunday best, and be in possession of a ticket. Tickets are sold a few weeks in advance. There is an initial "priority" sale to library cardholders; remaining tickets are offered to the general public a week later. * Learn It is a monthly series of free classes about a variety of topics, offered in partnership with Utah State Extension Services and other community organizations. * In 2014, the Library renovated a storage space to become The Attic at Academy Square. This exhibit space brings traveling exhibits from across the country; all exhibits are free and open to the public. * In 2018, the Library opened the Basement Creative Lab, an audiovisual production studio available free to Provo residents.

Location

Provo City Library is located on University Avenue and 550 North. It was listed on the

in 1976 as Brigham Young Academy. and

References

External links

*
NRHP Listings in Provo UtahThe Miracle at Academy Square collection
at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gran ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...