More to the library than you think

The Harold B. Lee Library that is on the BYU campus was finished in 2000. However, it had previously been called the J. Reuben Clark Library until 1973, and the original building was dedicated in 1962. A couple of additions were eventually added on, and were mostly underground. Now BYU students traverse all five floors of the library, about 10,000 patrons per day. But do we really notice the interesting and cool things about this building, or just walk straight to the desk or computer we want to use to study? I'll admit that I can count the amount of times I've used the library to get serious about school with on both of my hands.

So for this project, I explored the library a little more, and realized that there's a lot of artistic qualities about it. The HBLL is greater than what we realize, and I know I haven't seen most of it. I actually almost got lost in the depths of the second floor! But what I concluded after taking the pictures for this project, I was satisfied with what I found. I tried to capture some of the aesthetically pleasing parts of the building, whether it was the architecture, shelving, or actual pieces of art placed in interesting places.

I love this picture. It shows great bilateral symmetry  and is visually pleasing and interesting with the color contrasts and geometry of the first and second levels of the library. 

I can't remember if I found this art showcase on the first or second floor. But these two separate works of art, juxtaposed next to each other, created an interesting personality. It looks like a coffin of alphabetic letters are being looked over by a cross, signifying the death of a language, or learning. The symbols that could be derived from this can be very troubling, don't let your education die!!!

I have never seen the map room before either, and stumbled in on it. There was a great line of globes, and I took a few shots of them. The middle globe is rather centered, but is balanced by the one in the front that's to the side. The colors and round shapes are a good contrast to the straight lines and white walls. 

I found this interesting painting on the second floor and loved how good it looked in a composition of the hallway like this. The orange and yellow stripes on the painting match the wood strip on the edge of the wall, and the diagonal white railing provides interesting composition next to the wall. 

I got lucky when I found this image. All these stools for the book shelves were just sitting in the aisle. At the end of the aisle was a student at a desk, and it sums up the purpose of the library pretty well. It's a great place to be studious and increase our learning. I really value my education, and I think I'll try to use the library more often.