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When David Arsenault took down an old 19th-century leather-bound book from the winding shelves boston The Athenaeum, he feels a sense of awe – as if he is handling an artwork in a museum.
Of the half a million books in the endless maze of shelves and stacks in the library’s reading room, many were printed before his great-great-grandfather was born. among the brittle copies of Charles Dickens Novels, Civil War-era biographies and city genealogies, everything has a history and a heartbeat.
“It almost feels like you shouldn’t take the books out of the building, it feels so special,” said Arsenault, who visits the institute near Boston Common a few times a week. “You feel like, and in many ways, you are, you are in a museum – but it’s a museum in which you don’t feel at all times like you’re a visitor, but really a part of it.”
The more than 200-year-old institution is one of about 20 member-supported private libraries dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries in America. called the Athenaeum, a Greek The word means “temple of Athena”, a concept that predates the traditional public library that most Americans recognize today. The institutes were created by merchants, doctors, writers, lawyers, and ministers who not only wanted to create institutions for reading – then an expensive and difficult-to-access hobby – but also a place to explore culture and debate.
Many of these athenaeum still play a vibrant role in their communities.
Patrons gather to play games, engage in discussions on James Joyce, or even research family history. Others come to explore some of the country’s most prized artifacts, such as the largest collection of George Washington’s personal library at Mount Vernon, at the Boston Athenaeum.
In addition to conservation work, the institution acquires and elevates works by more modern composers that may have been overlooked. The Boston Athenaeum recently co-initiated an exhibition of painter Alan Rohan Crit, who died in 2007, and used his canvases to depict the joy of black life in the city.
One thing binds all athenaeums together: books and the people who love them.
“The entire institution is built around housing books,” said Matt Burysky, executive director of the Providence Athenaeum. Rhode Island“People who come to this institution really love holding a book in their hands and reading it the old-fashioned way.”
book lover’s dream
Built to mimic a grand Greek temple, the staff at the Providence Athenaeum often talk about the joy of seeing people enter for the first time.
visitors A series of cool, granite steps must be climbed. Then they are met with a thick wooden door that leads them into a warm world filled with cozy reading corners, hidden desks for leaving secret messages to fellow patrons, and books covering almost every square inch.
“This is a real time capsule of people’s reading habits over 200 years,” Barisky said, pointing to the first edition of Little Women, where the pages and spine proudly demonstrate having been well-read for years.
Many athenaeum are designed to pay homage to Greek influence and their namesake, the goddess of wisdom. In Boston, a city once known as the “Athens of America”, visitors to the Athenaeum are greeted by a nearly 7-foot-tall (2.1 m high) bronze statue of Athena Giustiniani.
This building is as much an art museum as it is a library.
“So many libraries were built to be functional – this library was built to inspire,” said John Buchtel, curator of rare books and head of special collections at the Boston Atheneum.
The 12-level building comprises five gallery floors where ornate statues of writers and historical figures line the reading room with wooden tables overlooking book-lined walkways accessed by spiral and hidden staircases.
Natural light shines through large windows where guests can look down to see one of Boston’s most historic cemeteries where celebrities such as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock are buried.
“We’re able to leave a lot of these things up for people to observe, and I think people can often be curious about something and follow their curiosity into things that they didn’t even know they were going to be fascinated by,” said Leah Rosowski, executive director of the Boston Athenaeum.
a safe haven
When athenaeum were founded, they were exclusive places where only people with education and money could access.
Some are now free. Most are open to the public for day passes and tours. Boston Athenaeum memberships can range from $17 to $42 per month per person, depending on whether the patron is under the age of 40 or is sharing the membership with family members.
Wedding photographer and aspiring novelist Charlie Grantham said she first visited during one of the institute’s annual community days, where the public can wander around for free. She said she was surprised by how accessible it was and described the location as “Boston’s best-kept secret – an oasis in the middle of the city.”
“It’s just peaceful. Even though I’m still working…things I’m stressed about at home, when I’m here, there’s a peace about it and things seem more manageable, things seem enjoyable here,” she said.
Some people commute every day to work, study or socialize remotely, said Jean-Marie Procius, executive director of the Salem Athenaeum.
“We have a loneliness crisis,” she said. “And we want to encourage people to come and see us as a place to meet others and a safe environment where you’re not expected to buy a drink or buy food.”