BOSTON — When David Arsenault slides a worn, leather-bound 19th-century book off the winding shelves of the Boston Atheneum, he feels a sense of awe—as if he were handling an artifact in a museum.
Many of the half-million books that line the library’s seemingly endless maze of reading room shelves and stacks were printed before his great-grandparents were even born. Among the well-worn copies of Charles Dickens novels, Civil War-era biographies, and city genealogies, everything has a history and a heartbeat.
“It’s like you can’t take the books out of the building, it’s a very special feeling,” said Arsenault, who visits the institution next to Boston Common several times a week. “You feel like you’re in a museum, in many ways – but it’s a museum where you can’t feel like a visitor all the time, but actually part of it.”
The more than 200-year-old institution is one of about 20 private, member-supported libraries in the United States dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Called the “Athenaeum,” Greek for “Temple of Athena,” the concept predates the traditional public library that most Americans know today. These institutions were built by merchants, doctors, writers, lawyers and ministers who wanted not only to create institutions for reading – then an expensive and inaccessible pastime – but also a space for cultural exploration and debate.
Many of these athenaeum still play a vital role in their communities.
Patrons gather to play games and join discussions James JoyceOr even research family history. Others visit to explore some of the country’s most valuable artifacts, such as the largest collection of… George Washington Personal Library at Mount Vernon in the Boston Atheneum.
In addition to restoration work, institutions acquire works by more modern creators who may have been overlooked and elevate their works. The Boston Athenaeum recently co-launched an exhibition by the painter Alain Rohan Crete, who died in 2007 and used his canvas to depict the joy of black life in the city.
There’s one thing that ties all the Athenaeum together: books and the people who love them.
“The entire institution is built around housing books,” said Matt Borisky, executive director of the Providence Atheneum in Rhode Island. “People who come to this institution really appreciate just holding a book in their hands and reading it the old-fashioned way.”
Built to mimic a majestic Greek temple, staff at the Providence Athenaeum often talk about the joy of watching people enter for the first time.
Visitors must climb a series of cool granite steps. Only then are they confronted by a thick wooden door that leads them into a cozy world filled with cozy reading nooks, hidden desks to leave secret messages for their colleagues, and almost every square inch filled with books.
“It’s an actual time capsule of people’s reading habits over 200 years,” Borici said, referring to the first edition of the book. Little womenThe pages and spine proudly display years of quality reading.
Many of the Athenaeum were designed to pay tribute to Greek influence and the goddess of wisdom of the same name. In Boston, a city once called the “Athens of America,” visitors to the Athenaeum are greeted by a nearly 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) bronze statue of Athena Giustiniani.
The building is as much an art museum as it is a library.
“Many libraries are built to be functional, and this one was built to inspire,” said John Buchtel, curator of rare books at the Boston Athenaeum and head of special collections.
The 12-story building includes five gallery floors where ornate busts of writers and historical figures adorn the reading rooms with wooden tables overlooked by book-lined paths and accessed by spiral and hidden staircases.
Natural light shines from the large windows where guests can look down to see one of Boston’s most historic cemeteries where figures like Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock are buried.
“We’re able to leave a lot of these things out for people to see, and I think people can often get curious about something and follow their curiosity into things they didn’t even know they’d be fascinated by,” said Leah Rosofsky, executive director of the Boston Atheneum.
When the Athenaeum was founded, they were exclusive spaces accessible only to people with education and money.
Some of them are now free. Most are open to the public for day passes and tours. Memberships at the Boston Athenaeum can range from $17 to $42 per month per person, depending on whether the patron is under 40 or sharing the membership with family members.
Charlie Grantham, a wedding photographer and aspiring novelist, said she first visited during one of the organization’s annual community days, where the public can explore for free. She said she was surprised by how accessible it was and described the place as “Boston’s best-kept secret — an oasis in the middle of the city.”
“It’s very peaceful. Even if I’m still working… I’m doing the things I’m stressed about at home, when I’m here, I feel calm about it and things feel more manageable, and I feel fun here,” she said.
Some people are visiting every day to work remotely, read or socialize, said Jean-Marie Brosius, executive director of the Salem Athenaeum.
“We have a loneliness crisis,” she said. “And we want to encourage people to come in and see us as a space to meet others and a safe environment where you’re not expected to buy a drink or buy a meal.”