The New York Times Company Donates Archives to The New York Public Library

Collection Includes Many Rare and One-of-a-Kind Documents

NEW YORK, July 25, 2007 - The New York Times Company announced today that it will donate its extensive archives dating back to 1851 to The New York Public Library. The priceless collection, which includes more than 400 cubic feet of documents plus 25 cubic feet of miscellaneous photos and other items, totals more than 700,000 pages. The collection will be part of the Library's Manuscripts and Archives Division and will be available to researchers at the landmark Humanities and Social Sciences Library located at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.

The archives contain the correspondence of each publisher of The New York Times, including the letters they exchanged with United States Presidents and other heads of state. Other highlights include select papers of Henry J. Raymond and George Jones, founders of The Times; documents relating to the critical news stories from around the world for the last century and a half; and files from both the business and editorial departments of the paper that provide a window into the day-to-day workings of The New York Times.

"We are delighted that the private New York Times archives will become part of the public repository of history," said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman, The New York Times Company and publisher, The New York Times. "Our archives are valuable to the history of The New York Times and to journalism, which is why it is so important to us that they be kept as a unified collection and be expertly preserved. We know that The New York Public Library will be a caring steward of this extensive and rare collection.

"All of us at The New York Times Company are grateful for the extraordinary work of Susan W. Dryfoos, my cousin and former director of Times History Productions, in arranging the donation of the collection," added Mr. Sulzberger.

"The New York Times records comprise one of the most important archives anywhere and will be an invaluable resource for historical research in virtually every field of endeavor," said Paul LeClerc, president of The New York Public Library. "We are privileged to have the opportunity to preserve it at the Library for future generations of scholars and researchers."

Also included in the collection of primary source materials are documents relating to the operations and business of The Times, maps, photographs, awards and editions of The New York Times dating back to September 18, 1851, the first date the newspaper was published.

"This remarkable archive will join numerous other Library collections that chronicle the history of The Times, the newspaper industry and journalism in New York," said David Ferriero, director of The New York Public Libraries.

In 1994 The New York Times donated a portion of its press clipping files to The New York Public Library. The Library also holds the papers of numerous writers and editors who worked at the paper, including Henry J. Raymond and George Jones, founders of The New York Times; John H. Finley, editor of The Times from 1921 to 1938; and journalist and editor Anne O'Hare McCormick, documenting her career from 1936 to 1954.

The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2006 revenues of $3.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 30 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

The New York Public Library provides free open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, and other services in four major research libraries and 87 branches. The Manuscripts and Archives Division holds approximately 29,000 linear feet of archival material in over 3,000 collections, dating from the third millennium BCE to the current decade. The greatest strengths of the Manuscripts and Archives Division are the papers and records of individuals, families, and organizations, primarily from the New York region. Notable collections include the records of CARE, Macmillan Publishing Company, National Audubon Society, the New Yorker, and the New York World's Fairs and papers of individuals as diverse as Thomas Jefferson, Lillian Wald, H.L.        Mencken, and Truman Capote.

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