Library Gets $2-Million Gift : Mayor Calls Donation by Getty Trust Magnificent

In what Mayor Tom Bradley called “a magnificent gift,” the J. Paul Getty Trust gave the fire-ravaged Los Angeles Central Library $2 million Tuesday to help rebuild its book collection.

The president of the trust, Harold M. Williams, was so low key in his announcement of the gift at a City Hall news conference that he neglected to say how much it was.

“Thank you, Harold,” the mayor said. Then, with a smile, Bradley added, “You did not mention the amount of the gift.”

“Well,” said Williams, “the gift is from the J. Paul Getty Trust in the amount of $2 million.”

“He whispers $2 million,” Bradley joked. “If I have anything to do with that kind of money, I shout it from the rooftops.”

Williams said the $2-million donation was decided on because “it was a nice round number. . . . We thought 10% of that (the damage amount) for openers would be a nice way to start.”

He called the fire “a tragedy” that affected the educational, cultural and intellectual life not only of Los Angeles but all of Southern California.

The J. Paul Getty Trust, with an endowment of $2.6 billion, was established after the death of the multibillionaire American oilman in June, 1976.

Williams and the mayor said they hope the Getty gift will inspire similar generosity from other trusts, foundations and corporations. Individual contributions also are encouraged, and Bradley said such donations in amounts ranging from $1 to $1,000 already total $12,000.

He said checks from individuals can be made out to “Library” and sent to the Mayor’s Office, City Hall, Room 305, Los Angeles, CA. 90012.

Bradley also said he is forming a committee of community and business leaders to solicit larger donations to help rebuild the library’s 2-million-book collection. Damage to books, documents and photos has been estimated at $20 million; damage to the 60-year-old downtown landmark building itself was about $2 million.

Hollywood Branch

The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation donated $3.2 million to rebuild the 42-year-old Hollywood Regional Branch Library destroyed in a 1982 fire that also was blamed on an arsonist. That fire also destroyed the Ivar Street building’s valuable theater arts collection. Damage was put at nearly $4 million. Construction of the new Hollywood branch is nearing completion, although no opening date has been set, according to Georgette Todd, branch senior librarian. The library’s staff is now working in an East Los Angeles warehouse cataloguing 90,000 new and restored volumes that were donated through a community fund-raising sponsored by the Los Angeles Library Assn.

Last week’s blaze at Central Library, described as the largest library fire in American history, was deliberately set, according to fire officials. Forty-six firemen were injured fighting the stubborn blaze.

An unidentified white man is being sought for questioning about the fire because he was seen by several library employees in the restricted stacking area where the blaze broke out shortly before 11 a.m. April 29. Investigators said he is not considered a suspect at this time.

Description of Man

The man was described as about 6 feet tall, 165 pounds, with blue eyes, blond hair and a light mustache. Anyone with information about him may telephone (213) 626-1081.

In related developments:

- The City Council approved a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist. On Monday, Bradley had asked the council for a $5,000 reward. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which is aiding Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators in the case, has offered a $5,000 reward.

- Library officials got permission from the Fire Department to send workers into the area where the blaze started and about 10,000 wet books that can be salvaged were removed. About 500,000 more books in the public reading room and the children’s wing were found and appeared to be dry and untouched by the fire, spokesman Robert Reagan said.

The dry books will probably be left in the library until new temporary quarters are located, Reagan said.

Another 600,000 water-soaked books were removed from the library last week and are now in cold storage warehouses, waiting to be slowly dried. About half of them will need to be rebound or recased, an effort that will “put a strain on the bookbinding industry throughout the West,” said Mariana K. Reith, the library’s director of technical services.

More in Storage

And yet another 600,000 dry books are being stored at the Los Angeles Convention Center, waiting to be cleaned.

Officials said they hope to find a building large enough to serve as the Central Library’s temporary home in the very near future. Reagan said the goal is to reopen within one or two months.

Library officials had already been looking for new temporary quarters because of a plan to begin redesigning the Central Library next year and build a large addition next to it. The remodeling plan required the Central Library’s collection to be housed in a temporary facility until 1991, when the $110-million project was to have been completed.

However, Reagan said some of the sites the library had considered for use next year are not ready now, and that may make it more difficult to find a site with the proper location, size and parking facilities.