LIBRARY FINDS HOME FOR RESEARCH COLLECTION

The Los Angeles Public Library has agreed to house a valuable motion-picture research collection for at least five years in exchange for free access to its resources.

The library board of commissioners has approved a proposal permitting movie research librarian Lillian Michelson to store her 4,500 books and 6,000 magazines in a Los Angeles warehouse rented by the library. The public library staff plans to use the collection to augment its own extensive movie research materials housed at the new Hollywood branch.

At the same time, Hollywood special-effects expert William Cruse agreed to temporarily store Michelson’s 44 filing cabinets of periodical and newspaper clippings.

The collection, which dates back to the old Samuel Goldwyn Co. studio library of 1932, began as a reference source to aid directors in authenticating movie scenes and props--everything from ancient weapons to modern wigs. Michelson acquired the collection in 1969. For more than 10 years it was housed at the American Film Institute.

In 1980, Michelson moved it to Francis Coppola’s Zoetrope Studios in Hollywood, which was sold and renamed Hollywood Center Studios two years ago.

In late May, studio owner Alan Singer asked Michelson to vacate her rent-free space there, and that is when the Central Library came to the rescue.

Learning of Michelson’s plight from a newspaper article, library director Betty Gay offered some of the public library’s unused warehouse space for the movie collection--the same space where the Central Library has housed much of its own permanent collection since its devastating fire in April.

“I’m just overcome by the people who’ve just had a huge tragedy of their own to be able to think of other libraries,” Michelson said.

But about one-fourth of Michelson’s materials will be in art director Cruse’s Hollywood office, where Michelson also plans to continue her research work.

“It was a disbelieving joy,” Michelson said. “Bill really came through when I was at the edge of the cliff and he kept me from falling over . . . Santa Claus lives. He’s just doing it out of the goodness of his heart. I just answer the phone for him and water his two plants.”

Michelson has already begun to negotiate future plans for her collection. She is considering a plan to house the collection at a Los Angeles high school.

Although it may be a long time before this proposal is approved, Michelson said, “I know my library would be a tremendous help to gifted young people.”