THE ARTS

Financial Woes: After taking the unusual step of putting up some of its own paintings as collateral last week to obtain a $1.5-million loan, the New York Historical Society is going to shut down the institution’s library on Feb. 19 because of a cash flow problem. All public programs will be canceled, except a long-planned traveling Audubon watercolor show, and 41 staff members will lose their jobs. A staff report indicated the extra funds would not sustain the operation, and “we decided not to spend money on what won’t get us where we want to go,” said chairman Norman Pearlstine. Options now range from merger to liquidation.