NYPL Sells Donnell

You know the wonderful Central Children's Room on the second floor of the Donnell Library Center in New York City? The one that houses the original Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals and has more than 100,000 volumes of material? Well, as of next fall, it'll be gone. Ditto for Teen Central, the space on the mezzanine.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) has agreed to sell the five-story, 84,000-square-foot building that houses the Donnell to Orient-Express Hotels for $59 million to make way for an 11-story hotel.

The good news is that Donnell will continue to own and occupy three levels—one on the ground floor, as well as two levels below—and have a separate entrance from the hotel, says spokesman Herb Scher. The new library, however, will be significantly smaller—only 19,000 square feet will be open to the public.

As a result, “some of the collections at the library will be located elsewhere,” says Scher, who declined to comment on how it would affect the children's room and Teen Central.

NYPL agreed to the sale because the Donnell branch needed about $48 million in repairs. Proceeds will also support significant capital needs at other branches, Scher says.

The current library will close to the public next fall, when construction begins, and relocate to a temporary site. Parts of its collections will be available at other locations of the NYPL. For those of you interested in seeing the Winnie the Pooh exhibit once Donnell closes, it'll be cared for in the Humanities and Social Sciences Library at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue.