Macaulay Connections

For more than 30 years, the Los Angeles Times has had a strong presence in New York City, with as many as a dozen journalists stationed here at any one time. Gifted teams of Times reporters have long been covering business, media, culture, crime, government and other topics out of the paper's New York bureau.

In the process, they amassed a sizeable collection of books. Packages from publishing houses seeking reviews arrived almost daily. Reporters used the books for research on their beats and filed them by category in the bureau's library. Over time, the paper collected a particularly impressive array of titles about New York history and architecture, as well as books by the city's most famous storytellers.

When the bureau relocated in the spring of 2009 from its longtime home at 2 Park Avenue to new space at 220 West 42nd Street, Times staff realized there would not be enough space to house the entire collection. Unwilling to abandon more than 2,000 titles, New York Bureau Chief Geraldine Baum began a hunt to find them the right home.

Baum had written a story for The Times about Macaulay and its mission in the CUNY tradition of educating New York's brightest, particularly the children of immigrants. During a visit to Macaulay's 67th Street townhouse, she noticed that while it was well-appointed, the school's headquarters was missing a crucial element for a great education: books.

At the time, The Commons had tall but empty shelves. So Baum called the dean and made an offer to donate the books-and a collection at Macaulay was born!

"I hope the students enjoy browsing the Los Angeles Times collection," Baum said.
"It's eclectic but filled with gems. It also tells you a lot about the world of New York publishing and what it has produced over the last few decades."

The students are indeed enjoying the collection as either a break from their studies or as they come to the building for other events. We are indeed grateful for this thoughtful gift.