PROVO -- Standing in the bottom-floor atrium of the plush, recently completed addition to the Harold B. Lee Library, Cali O'Connell is 40 feet beneath the earth and basking in sunlight.
"We're 40 feet underground," said the library administrative assistant, "But it doesn't feel 40 feet underground."Forty feet overhead, the afternoon sun shines through a skylight (there are four in all), brightening the ambience of the 234,000-square-foot structure that sprawls northward beneath Brigham Young University's much-traveled quad area.
The multimillion-dollar expansion, which opened publicly Wednesday, increases the library's size by 50 percent, making it the largest library in Utah and one of the largest libraries in the Intermountain West, according to Randy Olsen, deputy university librarian.
The three-floor, subterranean addition will also provide room for future growth.
O'Connell and other library staffers are happy with the finished facility. "We wanted something functional and aesthetically pleasing," she said. "I think we have both."
While the skylights provide ample natural light, O'Connell points out that natural light is actually an enemy to a library. That's why shelves that hold books are safely ensconced from the sun. Still, the building is well-lit and does not leave the impression to visitors that it is beneath ground.
"A basement is a good environment for books," O'Connell said, explaining that the stable climate helps preserve them from deteriorating. With 3 million books, that is a major concern.
"Wild fluctuations in temperature and humidity destroy the bindings," O'Connell explained. "Underground, the temperature is easier to control."
On the other hand, storing environmentally sensitive items below ground poses challenges as well. Waterproofing was the biggest architectural challenge to the addition, O'Connell said. Five layers of waterproof material cover the structure to prevent outside leaks.
The extra space allows BYU to consolidate its extensive cache. For years, thousands of books had to be stored at various locations on and off campus and now have been transported to this central location. Several sections of the existing library, like special collections, social sciences and family history, will be transferred to the addition.
Besides the boost in size, the new portion of the library houses numerous technological innovations, including classrooms equipped for interactive broadcasts with other universities; study tables wired with outlets and network links to connect laptops; two computer labs; and a 200-seat multimedia auditorium.
Architects were careful to design the addition to allow traffic to flow freely from the old building, which was constructed in the 1960s, to the new one, O'Connell said.
Not long after talk among campus officials about expanding the Lee Library began in the mid-1980s, they realized an addition would have to be done underground.
"We wanted it attached to the existing library," O'Connell said. "Building it underground was the only way to go because the school wanted to preserve the green space."
In 1996, the university broke ground on the building. Crews dug a massive pit and put a fence around the construction site in the middle of campus where the library is situated. While students have had to negotiate around the detour, the entire BYU community has had to endure an eyesore.
But now the verdant grass and pristine landscaping are back. When students return to classes in September, O'Connell believes the addition will quickly become an attraction, especially for curiosity's sake.
"People have been walking around that hole for three years," she said. "People want to come in and see what's been going on in here."