Membership Information
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Join Membership at the Boston Athenæum is open to everyone who completes an application. The application process is easy: please complete an online application or print out an application and mail it to us. |
Why Become a Member?
We think long-time Proprietor, Bailey Bishop, sums up the experience of being a member of the Boston Athenæum best:
Whenever I talk about the Athenæum, or take someone on a tour, I usually start by saying what I've been saying for almost 50 years, if I had to spend the rest of my life in one building in Boston, it would be the Athenæum.
By becoming a member you profit from the knowledge that you are part of one of the oldest and most distinguished cultural organizations in Boston, and you join the ranks of past members such as John Quincy Adams, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Amy Lowell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Daniel Webster, and Lydia Maria Child.
Membership Benefits
Joining as a member will allow you to:
- Take home books from our expansive circulating collection
- Have access to our rich and historical collections of rare books, manuscripts, maps, and prints
- Have access to our extensive electronic resources, building-wide WiFi, & updated computer lab
- Receive invitations to concerts, book talks, lectures, panel discussions, and film events
- Enjoy free and unlimited visits to exhibitions, and free access to all docent-led tours
- Participate in a variety of Book Discussion Groups, children’s story hours, & curator orientations
- Visit all floors of the library building, including reading rooms and open stacks, as well as seasonal terraces overlooking the Granary Burying Ground
- Receive our e-mail newsletters and seasonal programming guides
Membership Categories and Prices
The following fees are paid annually:
$320 Family Membership —for a couple or household
$200 Young Patron Individual Membership—for an individual age 35 or under
$225 Young Patron Family Membership—for a couple or household, where at least one member of the couple is age 35 or under
Family Memberships (both Young Patron and regular levels) also provide the additional benefit of including everyone living in your household. We can create library cards for children of all ages, and even caregivers who might accompany your children to the Library.
Processing time for new memberships is approximately one week. We are always happy to mail an application and informational packet to you or someone you know who might be interested in joining. Applications can also be completely filled out and submitted online or print out an application and mail it to us.
Membership applications should be mailed to:
Department of Development
The Boston Athenæum
10 ½ Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
A one-year Athenæum membership is a unique gift and one that is appropriate for all walks of life: from the graduate student looking for a quiet place to study with building-wide WiFi and electronic resources, to the recent retiree who now has more time to devote to evening lectures and events, to the new parent excited about story times in the children's library. To purchase a gift membership call, 617-720-7629, email membership@bostonathenaeum.org, or print out an application and mail to the address above.
Unfortunately gift memberships cannot be purchased through our online system at this time.
In addition to the categories listed above, the Athenæum also offers Institutional Memberships: $500 Annually.
Institutional Memberships were established in 2008 for organizations – both non-profit and for-profit.
Institutional Members enjoy the same benefits as all other Athenæum members.
The annual fee of $500 includes three Individual Memberships to be given to employees or affiliates of the institution. A limited number of additional memberships (under the umbrella of the Institutional Membership) can be purchased by the organization for an annual fee of $100 per additional individual.
For more information and an application please contact Emily Anderson at anderson@bostonathenaeum.org (617-720-7607)
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
We try to help our members feel more connected through Facebook and Twitter. Please follow us for daily updates and news on upcoming events, our collections, and other announcements from the Athenæum.
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