Libraries at BYU, U. among best in U.S.

Between the libraries at the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, students have two of the best in the country, according to a national ranking.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, a national magazine, ranked the U. library system 33rd out of 113 university research libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries. BYU ranked 55th on the list, which appeared in the magazine's 2004-2005 Almanac Issue, released Friday.

The rankings, based on 2002-2003 figures, take into account factors such as total volumes and volumes added.

The U. ranked high, in part, because of a huge purchase of electronic books, which are now shared by the U. and two Nevada schools that are part of a consortium. The three schools cut their costs and are each able to add the volumes to their totals.

"The real beneficiaries are the users of the University of Utah library," said Marriott Library director Sarah Michalak, who after next week is headed to a new job at the University of North Carolina library system.

The electronic format of books, many of them computer-related user manuals, are making a comeback as the hardware and software needed to view them becomes more affordable. As that happens, Michalak added, the U. will add more and more electronic books to their collection, which includes libraries for the school's law and health sciences departments.

Other factors have also helped boost the Chronicle's ranking of the U. from 56th in 1995 and from 41st last year.

The U. has added computer labs with the latest software and fast Internet connections for "real" research — not just for e-mail, word processing and chat rooms.

"We have lines of people waiting to use computers," Michalak said.

What does the ranking mean to the U.?

"The better the library, the more likely it is a faculty member will be attracted to the institution," she said. That is, faculty of a higher caliber. "Those things make a real difference."

Parents, students and graduate students will often consider the strength of a school's library when shopping around, she added.

All the better, then, that BYU is also ranked high on the Chronicle's list and in other surveys, such as the recent Princeton Review, which had BYU beating out Princeton and Harvard for the top spot in that publication's "great" library category.