“I started as an undergrad in 2012 in English and Linguistics. One of my English professors brought me to Special Collections for a presentation on the history of the book. I was handed some Sumerian clay tablets that were about 4,000 years old and got a little emotional about it. I also realized that this could be a job, this could be a career, and this could be a passion. Coincidentally, a part-time student position had just opened. I applied and got the job and realized that this was what I really love to do. I worked here part-time for five years as a student and have been full-time since 2019.

My job requires me to do many different things. There is the administrative side, which includes the cataloging, acquisition, and preservation of materials—keeping everything organized and in order. There is also the academic side. The majority of my work is geared toward students, teaching, and instruction.

I meet with approximately 30 to 40 classes per semester, hosting presentations on rare books. For each course, I carefully curate a selection of materials that it fits the needs of the class curriculum. The best part about my job is that I get to learn about all these different topics, all these aspects of history, geographies, languages, literatures, etc., so that I can best represent these books for other students.

For a state university in the middle of the desert, I am surprised by how big the collection is. Rare Books alone has over 80,000 items in the collection, ranging anywhere from 4,000-year-old Sumerian clay tablets to 21st century contemporary artist books, with so much stuff in between.

Collecting rare books began officially in 1971, under the name Special Collections. But it had already been growing since the 1940s, specifically around titles related to Utah and LDS history. One of our collection strengths, for example, is on the American West and westward expansion.

Other collection strengths include the Middle East library, which is known to be one of the largest in the country; Mesoamerica; medieval manuscript facsimiles; the history of printing; the history of science; and an incredible collection of more than one thousand contemporary artist books

I think my favorite books in the collection are not necessarily the ones that are the rarest or the most sought after, but the ones that make a big cultural or historical impact.

The most important thing is that these books are accessible for anybody to come look at: students, faculty, and community members. I would love people to take advantage of the opportunity to hold history in their hands. Perhaps there is another me out there… It just takes one time looking at a clay tablet to change the trajectory of their life. I hope I could inspire that as well.”

—Lyuba Basin, rare books librarian, J. Willard Marriott Library