What is the most requested book at the Library of Congress? – Deseret News

HANOVER, N.H. — The librarians at the Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth College are used to one frequent request from visitors. The most requested book in the library's collection is the first edition of the Book of Mormon from 1830. The demand has been so high over the years that the members of the preservation team crafted a custom box that easily transforms into a book cradle to prevent the strain on the book's spine. For quick access, the librarians keep the copy on the hold shelf behind the reference desk.

When I visited the library recently, a librarian brought out the leather-bound copy within minutes and splayed it on a book cradle on a wooden table in a brightly lit room. Most of the visitors seeking the book are not students or faculty, according to librarians, but out-of-state visitors who may be combining their visit to Rauner with a trip to the birthplace of Joseph Smith in Sharon, Vermont, a 30-minute drive from Dartmouth.

The Rauner at Dartmouth is not the only library where the first edition of the Book of Mormon is a popular book. At the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., which has two first editions of the Book of Mormon, it is the most requested book. In fact, it's so popular that one of the copies was put in a glass display case to prevent wear and tear.

"We couldn't keep showing it at the rate that we were and expecting it to survive," said Eric Frazier, a reference specialist at the Rare Books and Special Collections at the Library of Congress.

Among collectors, the book is a highly sought-after collectible item. From the 5,000 copies of the original first editions printed in New York in 1830, it is estimated that about 700 copies exist today. Some rare book collectors believe the number is closer to 500, while others believe the number could be closer to 2,500. Once a copy emerges on the market, it doesn't linger there for long, book collectors told me. The price of the 1830 first edition went from $50 in the 1950s to around $200,000 today, several rare book experts told me. In June, a copy was sold for $185,000 at Swann's Auction in New York City, setting a new auction record.

Ken Sanders, the owner of Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City, called the 1830 edition "the Holy Grail of the (Latter-day Saint) book collecting."

"It's not the rarest book, and it's not the most valuable book," Sanders said. "But it's the most desired book."

'It connects to a lot of things' A foundational text of scripture for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Book of Mormon was first published in 1830 in Palmyra, New York, by Egbert B. Grandin. The first edition is the only edition that includes a preface by Joseph Smith and lists him as "author and proprietor" due to a federal law enacted in 1790 that required anyone seeking a copyright to claim to be author or proprietor of the material. Latter-day Saints believe that Joseph Smith received engraved gold plates through divine means and translated the ancient book of scripture "by the gift and power of God." Other editions of the Book of Mormon list Smith as the translator.

"The Book of Mormon has spiritual significance to the members of the church," said Joan Nay, the rare book specialist from the Church History Library, who also worked for Weller Book Works in Salt Lake City.

Comparable to the Bible in its significance for Latter-day Saints, the Book of Mormon contains teachings about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and is seen as evidence of God's continued communication today. The interest in the book has continued to grow since the founding of the church in 1830, Nay told me, and the book still holds a "sacred place" for more than 16 million Latter-day Saints. In 2023, the church published the 200 millionth copy of the Book of Mormon. "It is the cornerstone of a religion that continues to grow around the world," Nay said. "And to non-members and book collectors, it's a cornerstone of a unique period in the history of America."

Dozens of libraries and institutions have a copy of the first edition that visitors can see, and in most cases, handle. Some, like Harvard and the Newberry Library in Chicago have two copies, and several copies are owned by the Church History Library and Brigham Young University's Special Collections.

Stories of how the first editions ended up at so many universities and libraries around the United States are often tied to the stories of collectors with passions for American and religious history.

For instance, the Newberry Library in Chicago received both of its copies through collections donated to the library. One copy, which the library received in 1911, belonged to Edward Ayer, an American businessman and philanthropist who was especially interested in the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and their contacts with European American settlers and colonizers. By the early 20th century, Ayer had accumulated one of the largest collections of historical books on American history and indigenous cultures. The second copy came to the library in the 1980s as part of a Chicago lawyer's collection of about 400 volumes.

Both copies have original calf leather binding and have been well-preserved, said Will Hansen, Roger and Julie Baskes vice president for collections and library services and curator of Americana at Newberry Library. "In some ways, they feel like they just came off the press," Hansen told me, noting that early 19th-century paper is more enduring than the more chemically treated paper used later.

"It will be good for another 500 years," he said.

What's interesting for Hansen is that the Book of Mormon intersects with so many disciplines, which is partly what makes it a desirable book for libraries and collectors. "If you have a collection about American religion, you're going to want to have the Book of Mormon. If you're collecting American West, you're going to want a copy. If you're collecting social movements in America, you'll also want one," Hansen said. "It connects to a lot of things."

As Adrian Vaagenes, Woodstock librarian at Georgetown University, which also has a copy, put it: "If you want to tell the story of America, you have to tell that story with the Book of Mormon."

Books left behind Often, the libraries don't know how they ended up with these enormously valuable books. At the Dartmouth Rauner library, it's believed to have been a donation. (There is a connection between Dartmouth and Joseph Smith: Dr. Nathan Smith of Dartmouth Medical College performed surgery on Joseph Smith's leg.) Donations, purchases or gifts of rare books were often not systematically documented, according to Reid Moon of the Moon's Rare Books. The first editions were widely read and passed around between people, he said. After the Latter-day Saints started moving west, "the books were left behind," said Moon, who said he's seen about 300 copies throughout his career. In 2017, he purchased a first edition signed by Hyrum Smith, the older brother of Joseph Smith.

Sometimes these copies ended up in unexpected places. About 10 years ago, Moon got a call from estate sale workers in Massachusetts, who had been going through the belongings of a couple who had lived on a farm for nearly 50 years. In the rafters of the barn, they discovered a chest with a first edition of the Book of Mormon wrapped in a blanket. They got $70,000 for that copy, Moon told me – more than what they got for all the possessions the couple had accumulated in 50 years. "They didn't even know they had a copy," Moon said.

Ken Sanders once sold a copy of the first edition that was retrieved from a cavity in the wall behind a bookcase in a religious library that had closed down. It's likely that the book just fell behind the bookcase, Sanders told me, but the enclosed location preserved the book's condition.

"It was the finest condition of a copy I've ever had," said Sanders, who ended up selling it for $50,000. Over time, old books develop "foxing"— brownish or yellowish spots and blotches, caused by humidity, temperature changes, and the presence of certain materials like iron or organic matter in the paper. "Condition is the single biggest factor in the pricing of antiquarian and rare books," Sanders said.

The most requested book To prolong the life of these significant historic books, the Library of Congress moved away from showing the book to individual visitors, reserving the handling of the book to the library's staff. The library has two copies of the first editions of the Book of Mormon, one of which is signed by Martin Harris, who mortgaged his farm to help finance the printing of the first edition of the Book of Mormon.

About 15 years ago, the library saw an influx of missionaries and families coming in to see the book, according to Eric Frazier of the Library of Congress. Families now make up the larger portion of the visitors. For a time, people would ask to see the copy of the first edition that they believed Abraham Lincoln borrowed from the Library of Congress. Frazier wants to straighten out that tale: "It turns out we didn't have the first edition when Abraham Lincoln was in office," he said, noting that instead the Library of Congress had the third edition.

One of the copies has been re-backed. The conservators created a new binding and carved a very thin layer off the original binding and glued it to the top, combining newer and older leather.

Now, anyone can walk in and see the copy — the one signed by Martin Harris — in the display case of the reading room of the Rare Books and Special Collections at the Library of Congress. Both copies are also digitized online .

"It is by far the most requested book that we have," Frazier said, adding that thousands of people come to see it every year. "It's a perennial favorite here in the division."

Preparing for a visit In some cases, seeing a first edition of the Book of Mormon may require some planning. For instance, at the Boston Public Library, visitors are advised to make an appointment with the Special Collections Department. On my recent visit, I was asked to leave my belongings in a locker before being ushered into the reading room. Electronic devices were allowed inside the reading room, but special bright yellow paper and pencil were required for taking notes. After waiting outside the glass doors, a librarian led me into a dimly lit reading room with long tables and faux-leather chairs. Although I was the only visitor, I was assigned a seat. A sign on the table warned me against touching my face or mouth after handling the book, due to potentially toxic pigments and dyes.

This multi-step preparation — and the anticipation that came with it — made my encounter with this religious and historical artifact a bit like joining generations of readers over centuries. The Boston Public Library's copy, which was rebound in 1909, features a marbled fuchsia and brown pattern on the hard cover and sprinkled edges, a common decorative element at the time. On the bookplate inside is a small blue star with a letter "B" that signifies the importance of the book, according to the librarians. A brown stain that likely came from a liquid, a librarian told me, marked page 152. The book, and the stories in it, felt alive and connected me to the scores of believers from the past, and their faith. The Boston Public Library acquired the copy in 1878 but not much is known about its origins, librarians told me. Although the first edition is not the most requested book here, it's being "actively used," one librarian said.

Over the years, Sanders has watched the astounding rise of the price for the Book of Mormon first edition. He sold his first copy in the 1970s for $5,000. When the price hit $100,000, everyone was "shocked" by it, he said, adding that there aren't many 19th century books that will break $100,000 mark in price. What defines the rarity of the book is the demand for it, he said. "You could have the rarest thing in the world, but if nobody wants it, it doesn't matter."