Dorothy Gray, 58; MTA Librarian Built Notable Collection
Dorothy Gray, 58, manager of library services for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, died Oct. 19 at her home in Los Angeles after suffering from a lung condition.
Born in Winterville, Miss., Gray earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Southern Illinois University and a master’s degree in library science at Columbia University. She moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and worked as a legislative analyst in city government before joining the Southern California Rapid Transit District, the predecessor of the MTA, in 1988.
As librarian, she greatly expanded the library and collection of transit memorabilia. She computerized the library catalog and made the Internet available to employees. Under her guidance, the library became a federal repository for transportation manuscripts and documents. When the RTD’s new headquarters opened near Union Station in 1995, Gray oversaw the development of a modern corporate library that is now recognized as one of the best transportation research resources in the industry.
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