Visitors & Day Members

• Visitors register and pay any associated admission fees at the front desk.
• Purchasing a day membership provides access to all twelve stories.
• The first floor—including art and exhibition gallery—is open to visitors with a first-floor admission ticket purchase.

Building Access & Bag Policy

• Children 13 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.
• Strollers are allowed in all areas except the exhibition gallery and gallery levels for safety reasons.
• Bags smaller than 11×17 inches are permitted; backpacks must be held at your side. This helps ensure the safety of our artwork as you navigate some narrow passages. There may be instances where you will be asked to store your bag.
• Store coats, oversized belongings, and strollers in the first-floor coat room (instructions are provided inside each locker). Pick up a clear bag for any items you’d like to bring into the library.
• Our security team checks bags and purses whenever someone departs the building.

Phone Calls & Virtual Meetings

• Virtual meetings: Plan ahead and reserve a designated fourth-floor phone booth for a one-hour block by writing your name on the phone booth door.
• Brief phone calls (5 minutes or less) are permitted in the following areas:
  • First-floor lobby, coat room, bow room, function room
  • Fourth-floor living rooms, pantry, conference room
  • Second & fifth floor terraces
• Silent use of phones & personal computers is welcome throughout the building—all devices must remain muted at all times.
• Headphones are available for checkout at the front desk.

Wi-Fi

• Wi-Fi is available throughout the building for Athenaeum guests.

Silent Spaces

• The fifth-floor reading room and the Special Collections Reading Room are designated as silent spaces.

Special Collections

• Anyone with a research interest in the collections may make an appointment. Requests to see Special Collections materials must be made online.

Photography

• Flash-free photography is allowed with some restrictions. Tripods, selfie sticks, and other camera-holding devices are not allowed. Refrain from photographing people without their permission. Props, costumes, and decorations are not allowed.
• Special-occasion or promotional photography requires a prior appointment. Please submit inquiries to the events team at events@bostonathenaeum.org. Rental fees may apply.

Food & Drinks

• Covered drinks are welcome everywhere except the Special Collections viewing spaces.
• Food is only permitted in designated areas of the library. Please enjoy meals and snacks on the terraces, in the fourth-floor members’ living room, or in the fifth-floor members’ lounge. Please keep food out of the phone booths.
• No food is permitted on the first floor with the exception of catered special events.

Guidelines for Use of Artists Materials at the Boston Athenaeum

• We invite classes and visitors to sketch and draw the art and architecture of the Athenaeum. We are delighted that the collections are a source of inspiration! For the safety of our collections, we allow graphite, colored pencils, erasers, and sketch pads up to 11×17 inches. Please leave ink, paints, markers, pastels, and charcoal at home.
• Visitors and classes are restricted to the first floor for sketching and drawing unless special arrangements have been made.