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Athenaeum of Philadelphia

Welcome to the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. The Athenaeum was established in 1814 as a subscription library, at a time when the free public library system did not exist and collections of books, available for reading or research, were still mostly limited to institutions, schools or colleges.

The Athenaeum of Philadelphia nurtures curiosity in members and neighbors, strengthening community through learning and discourse.

The Athenaeum of Philadelphia is one of 16 membership libraries that collaborate through the Membership Libraries Group. Some, like the Charleston (est. 1748), New York Society (est. 1754), and Newport (est. 1741) libraries, date from the 18th Century.

The Deviant Prison: Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary and the Origins of America's Modern Penal System, 1829-1913 Cyclical City: Five Stories of Urban Transformation Fictions of Consent: Slavery, Servitude, and Free Service in Early Modern England

2022 Speaker Series

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau Jackie & Me The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir

New Release Recommendations

Empire of Ruins: American Culture, Photography, and the Spectacle of Destruction My Broken Language: A Memoir Salut!: France Meets Philadelphia

Athenaeum Literary Award Winners

Family Business: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever Hamnet

Staff Recommendations

Mutinous Women: How French Convicts Became Founding Mothers of the Gulf Coast Philadelphia: City of Homes Safe Places: Stories

Athenaeum Authors

Hell of a Book Bury Me in Shadows Braiding Sweetgrass

Athenaeum Book Club Picks

The Personal Librarian The Correspondents: Six Women Writers on the Front Lines of World War II Crossroads

Member Favorites

Revolutionary Conceptions: Women, Fertility, and Family Limitation in America, 1760-1820 Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City

Speaker Suggestions

We Are Not Like Them The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir Madam C. J. Walker's Gospel of Giving: Black Women's Philanthropy During Jim Crow

2021 Speaker Series

Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped Into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America

2020 Speaker Series