The Special Collections Department in Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library was named in honor of Elder L. Tom Perry of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during ceremonies on Friday.

The L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library was funded by a $3-million grant from the ALSAM Foundation. The Special Collections Library recently reopened after undergoing renovations and relocation as part of the Lee Library addition and remodeling.

Elder Perry was the special guest at the dedication ceremonies, which were conducted by BYU President Merrill J. Bateman.

Bateman said that the new 50,000-square-foot Special Collections Library is a fitting tribute to a man known for his integrity, compassion and love of learning.

"It will be a center of learning, both modern in its technology and extensive in its influence, reaching far beyond campus," he said.

The L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library is one of the preeminent special collections facilities in the nation, according to University Librarian Sterling J. Albrecht.

The library's holdings include 280,000 books and printed items, more than half a million historical photographs related to Utah and the American West and more than 8,000 manuscript collections.

Special features of the collection include Mormon and Western Americana, folklore, Victorian and 19th and 20th century literature and the Arts and Communication Archive, which includes the papers of motion picture legends Cecil B. DeMille, Howard Hawks, King Vidor and James Stewart as well as an extensive film music archive.

The mission of the Special Collections Library is to make its holdings available to support the teaching, learning and research activities of faculty and students at BYU, with a special emphasis on the value of exposing undergraduate students to primary and historical materials.

Plans for the collection include making more of its materials available on the Internet.