The 1996 book on The New-York Historical Society mentioned by H. Christian Carr in his post should be informative reading, and recent enough to cover the controversial auction of some of the collection as well as describe the institution's comeback.  

The New-York Historical Society: Lessons From One Nonprofit's Long Struggle For Survival.  By Kevin M. Guthrie; foreword by William G. Bowen.  San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, c1996. xxi, 246 p. ; 25 cm.  (Jossey-Bass Nonprofit Sector Series)
LC 95-023655 

Look up this book by title in Amazon.com's zShops to see a helpful annotation provided by Book News, Inc., Portland OR, dated August 1, 1996.

I found a book dealer listed in Amazon's zShops who has multiple copies to sell.  They wrote me:

We do have several copies of Guthrie's "New-York Historical.....", '96 ed. They are in near mint condition. The price is $26.21. We can ship by Priority Mail. The [shipping] cost would be $4.50.  If you would like to place an order, you can call us at our toll free # 1-877-244-0848. You will need your credit card#, exp. date, phone # , and shipping address. Thanks for your interest.
Lin
Book Emporium
http://www.bookemporium.com 
1-877-244-0848


David W. Palmquist
Head, Chartering Program
NY State Museum
State Education Department
3090 Cultural Education Center
Albany NY 12230
518-473-3131
FAX 518-473-8496
e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
web site:  www.nysm.nysed.gov/charter/

>>> [log in to unmask] 03/21/01 06:39PM >>>
Also see the book published in the mid-1990s on the New York Historical
Society, which has bounced back nicely, just having opened the
state-of-the-art Luce Study Center for their collection.

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