In the late 1980s, Bruce Slovin, who was the chairman of YIVO, originated the concept of unified center where the partners could share resources. The idea was triggered when he realized that the then home of YIVO, a mansion located at 86th and Fifth Avenue, was not able to meet the needs of its collections or visitors, resulting in an environment that was hazardous to the collection (it was not temperature-controlled) as well as made archival study difficult. The location on Museum Mile was not seen as an advantageous adjacency. Slovin saw YIVO and the partner organizations as being more academic-focused.