Please note the library will close at 12:30pm on Fri 12/13 and will be closed Tues 12/24 - Wed 1/1.

pvdath

It’s that time of year! Please join us this Satu

It’s that time of year! Please join us this Saturday for our 3rd annual Christmas Carol Marathon Reading. We start at 2pm and don’t stop reading until Tiny Tim wraps it up (approx 6pm). We’ll be joined by special guests the Merry Dickens Carolers at 3:45, and @ricruisincocktails will be mixing up some festive beverages during the event. All welcome! Details at provath.org.

The Athenæum will be closed Thurs 11/28 and Fri 1

The Athenæum will be closed Thurs 11/28 and Fri 11/29 for Thanksgiving. During this season of gratitude, all of us at the library are reminded of how thankful we are for our incredible community of thoughtful, interesting, curious, generous, intelligent, and (most importantly?) well-read members, friends, and visitors. Book people are good people. Enjoy your holiday!

The Athenæum opened its doors in 1838, at the tai

The Athenæum opened its doors in 1838, at the tail-end of a massive national financial crisis. There were no cars, no planes, and no electricity. We kept track of everything on paper, by hand, and by gaslight. There was no radio, no television, and no internet. Martin Van Buren was the President. There were only 26 states.

This library has remained in operation through a civil war, two world wars, the Cold War, the Great Depression, various pandemics, myriad stock market collapses, and 47 national election cycles. We’ve survived great presidents and terrible ones, calm and chaos, floods, fires, and famines.

We’re open today, and we’ll be open tomorrow, and the day after that.

Happy Halloween! 📙📓📙📓

Happy Halloween! 📙📓📙📓

Is there anything better than being surrounded by

Is there anything better than being surrounded by books when the weather is just starting to turn and all the leaves are starting to fall?

Always so many books to read 📚

Always so many books to read 📚

If you’ve visited recently, you might be wonderi

If you’ve visited recently, you might be wondering about the gorgeous arrangements and vessels that have been appearing at the Circulation Desk. They’re the work of talented member Max Avi Kaplan @maxavikaplan who sources his blooms from local gardens. Thank you, Max, for sharing your incredible gift with us and for bringing such joy into the library! (The hydrangea arrangement was inspired by the wigs of Marie Antoinette!)

It’s getting hot in here! The library will be cl

It’s getting hot in here! The library will be closed Wednesday, July 17th as temperatures are already hitting over 90° in parts of the building. We’ll reopen as usual at 10am on Thursday. Online reading group registration will open at 8am as planned.

Load More... Follow on Instagram

A small library in the smallest state still makes big headlines.

FEATURES

“Whitman, Poe, And The Spirit World At The Athenaeum” Providence Daily Dose, October 2024

“The city that moved rivers to emerge as a cultural capital” CNN Travel, June 2024

“Providence, RI, Is the Charming East Coast Creative Capital to Visit Now” Vogue, June 2024

“‘Cabinet of curiosities’: A tour of the rare books, art and oddities at the Providence Athenaeum” Artscape, The Public’s Radio, May 2024

“Edgar Allan Poe & Helen Whitman – Birthday Twins” Providence Daily Dose, January 2023

“Searching for Bigfoot and the ghost of a literary icon” Chronicle, WCVB, January 2023

“The Bust Project” Rhode Island PBS, Art Inc., November 2022

“The 12 Most Beautiful Libraries in the U.S.” Yahoo Life, November 2022

“The Beautiful Rhode Island Library That Looks Like Something From A Book Lover’s Dream” Only in Your State, October 2022

“Window on Rhode Island: Providence Athenaeum” Rhode Island PBS Weekly, October 2022

“5 Rhode Island wedding venues that will take your breath away” The New York Post, March 2022

“Providence Athenaeum” Atlas Obscura, Dec 2016

“The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries” Condé Nast Traveler, Jan 2016

PRESS PACKAGE

For press inquiries or to receive the Athenæum’s logo, please contact Robin Wetherill, Director of Engagement, at 401.421.6970 x27 or at rwetherill@provath.org.