Boston Athenæum - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Boston Athenæum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is also one of only sixteen extant membership libraries, meaning that patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use the Athenæum's services. The institution was founded in 1807 by the Anthology Club

Anthology Club

The Anthology Club, or Anthology Society was organized in 1804 in Boston, Massachusetts by the Rev. William Emerson, father of Ralph Waldo Emerson....

of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.

The Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...

defines “athenaeum” as:

An association of persons interested in scientific and literary pursuits, meeting for the purpose of mutual improvement; a literary or scientific club;
A building or institution in which books, periodicals, and newspapers are provided for use; a literary club-room, reading-room, library.

Just as a museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

is a place for the muses who inspire art, so an athenæum

Athenaeum (ancient Rome)

The Athenaeum was a school founded by the Emperor Hadrian in Rome, for the promotion of literary and scientific studies and called Athenaeum from the town of Athens, which was still regarded as the seat of intellectual refinement...

is a place for Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...

, the goddess of wisdom who inspires intellectual pursuits.

19th c.

In 1803, a young Harvard graduate by the name of Phineas Adams established the magazine The Monthly Anthology, or Magazine of Polite Literature. Adams left the New England area in 1804, having insufficient funds to continue the periodical; however, the printers Munroe and Francis convinced other young men to contribute to and continue the magazine under the new title of The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review. By 1805, these young men founded the Anthology Society.
The Boston Athenæum was founded in 1807 by members of the Anthology Society, literary individuals who began with a plan to have a reading room. The first librarian, William Smith Shaw, and the new trustees had ambitious plans for the Athenæum. Basing their vision on the Athenæum and Lyceum in Liverpool, England,their vision was expanded to include a library encompassing books in all subjects in English and foreign languages, a gallery of sculptures and paintings, collections of coins and natural curiosities, and even a laboratory. This ambitious design has evolved over the past two hundred years with some changes in focus (i.e. there is no chemistry lab) but remaining true to the ideal expressed in the institution's seal, chosen in 1814: Literarum fructus dulces, sweet are the fruits of letters.

The first yearly subscriptions were sold for ten dollars; only members were allowed to enter the Athenæum's rooms, although they could bring guests. The Athenæum’s collections were initially non-circulating, meaning that even members could not check books out to take home.

At first, the Boston Athenæum rented rooms, then in 1809 bought a small house adjacent to the King's Chapel Burying Ground

King's Chapel Burying Ground

King's Chapel Burying Ground is a historic cemetery at King's Chapel on Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest cemetery in the city and is a site on the Freedom Trail....

, and in 1822 moved into a mansion on Pearl Street, where a lecture hall and gallery space were added within four years.

In 1823, Shaw stepped down as librarian, and the King's Chapel

King's Chapel

King's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...

Library, as well as the Theological Library belonging to the Boston Association of Ministers, was deposited in the Athenæum. Work was begun on a shelf catalog in 1827. This same year, the art gallery was established, and the first annual exhibition opened. Measures were undertaken in 1830 to turn the collections into a circulating library. Once the Athenæum became a circulating library, only four books were allowed to be checked out at a time.

10½ Beacon Street

By the early 1840s, Boston

Boston

was a fast growing city. As a consequence, Pearl Street was built up by warehouses crowding around the Athenæum building. The trustees moved to construct a new building in order to facilitate access to the Athenæum. Land was acquired on Beacon Street overlooking the Old Granary Burying Ground, and the cornerstone was laid in 1847.

In 1849, the current location at 10½ Beacon Street opened. It was the first space designed for the Boston Athenæum’s specific needs. The first floor held the sculpture gallery; the second, the library; and the third, the paintings gallery.

The architect was Edward Clarke Cabot

Edward Clarke Cabot

Edward Clarke Cabot was an American architect and artist.-Early life:Cabot's father was Samuel Cabot Jr., a shipping businessman. His mother was Eliza Perkins Cabot. He had two siblings: Dr. Samuel Cabot III , an eminent surgeon, and Walter Channing Cabot Edward Clarke Cabot (August 17, 1818...

, an artist and dilettante whose design was selected because his ingenious arch over graves in the Granary Burial Ground allowed more space on all floors above the basement level. The neo-Palladian façade of “Patterson sandstone” was unique in Boston.

Cutter Expansive Classification

Charles Ammi Cutter

Charles Ammi Cutter is an important figure in the history of American library science.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Cutter was appointed assistant librarian of Harvard Divinity School while still a student there...

became librarian in 1869, succeeding William Frederick Poole

William Frederick Poole

William Frederick Poole was an American bibliographer and librarian.-Biography:He graduated from Yale University in 1849, where he assisted John Edmands, who was a student at the Brothers in Unity Library...

. Until this point, work on the comprehensive catalog of the library’s holdings had been uninspired. The Athenæum’s exhibition area opened up when the Museum of Fine Arts

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...

moved the collections into their own space overlooking Copley Square. Cutter took advantage of the space; he used it to spread out the collections and to revise and complete the five-volume catalog. Cutter created his own classification system, known as Expansive Classification, in order to revise and finish the five-volume catalog. Later, the Cutter system became the basis for the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

classification system; the sections of call number used to alphabetically designate authors’ names in the LC system are still known as "Cutter numbers."

Establishment of Museum of Fine Arts

Many of the Trustees at the Boston Athenæum participated in the movement to create a separate museum in Boston. In the years 1872-1876, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts exhibited in the Athenæum's gallery space while waiting for construction of its building to be complete. There would be no more annual exhibitions; shelves were installed and the library spread to the first and third floors.

20th-21st c.

In 1913-1914, when the Boston Athenæum employed the architectural firm of Bigelow and Wadsworth

Henry Forbes Bigelow

Henry Forbes Bigelow was a Boston, Massachusetts architect in the firm Bigelow and Wadsworth. He became a partner in the firm in 1898.-Biography:...

to expand the building, the fourth and fifth floors were set back so as not to disrupt the symmetry of the façade. This renovation not only fireproofed the building but also expanded the space, including addition of the beautiful fifth floor reading room, the fourth floor Trustees’ Room, and the much-needed shelving in the eleven levels of drum stacks from the basement to the third floor.

The Boston Athenæum was declared a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

in 1966.

Between 1999 and 2002, the Boston Athenæum undertook a major renovation to update its climate control system, gain more space for books, and add new gallery space on the first floor.

The Boston Athenæum celebrated its bicentennial in 2007.

Mission statement

The mission of the Boston Athenæum is to serve its members, the broader community, and scholars throughout the world by preserving and augmenting its collections of books and art, by providing library services and cultural programs, and by preserving and enhancing the unique atmosphere of its landmark building.

Holdings

The Athenæum's holdings currently include over 600,000 volumes, and the collections' strengths focus on Boston and New England history, biography, British and American literature, as well as fine and decorative arts. The Boston Athenæum’s rare and circulating books, maps and manuscripts reflect the collecting interests of the Library as it has narrowed its focus from encyclopedic in the 19th century to an emphasis on the humanities and its large, historic collection of art includes paintings, sculpture, prints, photographs, and decorative arts.

Visiting

The Boston Athenæum is open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from (8:30 for members) 9:00 to 8:00; Thursdays, and Fridays (8:30 for members) 9:00 to 5:30, and Saturdays from 9 to 4. The Athenæum is closed on Sundays.

Members and their guests have access to the entire building; visitors may look through the galleries and the first floor.

Researchers can make appointments to see items in the special collections. The Vershbow Special Collections Reading Room is open from 10 to 5, Tuesday through Friday.

The Athenæum is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston

Boston

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

, a half block east of the Massachusetts State House

Massachusetts State House

The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the "New" State House, is the state capitol and house of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in Boston in the neighborhood Beacon Hill...

and the Boston Common

Boston Common

Boston Common is a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons". Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States. The Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street,...

, and half block west of King's Chapel

King's Chapel

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

19th c.

10½ Beacon Street

Cutter Expansive Classification

Establishment of Museum of Fine Arts

20th-21st c.

Mission statement

Holdings

Visiting

Further reading

External links