Mission Statement

The Nantucket Atheneum, a private non-profit organization provides public library service to the island’s year-round and seasonal residents, housed in a historic 1847 building and the Weezie Library for Children. The Atheneum collects, organizes and disseminates books, literature and other materials in a variety of formats to help users of all ages meet their recreational, personal, professional and intellectual needs. In keeping with its heritage, the Atheneum also serves as a cultural center for the Nantucket community by sponsoring educational programming and maintaining special collections related to the history and culture of the island.

History of the Atheneum

Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, symbolizes the cultivation of Literature, the Sciences, and the Arts in atheneums around the world.

The Nantucket Atheneum continues to advance its original ideals as a library, a museum with special collections, and a cultural center. A 1996 renovation and restoration reopened the second floor Great Hall for lectures and research, provided gallery and conference space on the lower level, and created the Weezie Library for Children.

Designed by architect Frederick Brown Coleman and completed soon after the original building was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1846, the Atheneum is an impressive example of the Greek Revival style of architecture. Its elegance is enhanced by the beauty of historic columns, capitals, medallions, and moldings. The Atheneum has had only six librarians and an equally small number of building renovations.

The first Atheneum building about two years before the great fire of 1846.

A history of the Nantucket Atheneum would not be complete without mention of Maria Mitchell. At eighteen (1836), she became the first librarian of the Nantucket Atheneum..

Maria went on to other great achievements throughout her life. On October 1, 1847 Maria Mitchell discovered a telescopic comet, an accomplishment for which she received a gold medal from King Frederick of Denmark. She was the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Philosophical Society. She was a Professor of Astronomy at Vassar College. She founded and was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Women. She led one session of the Women's Congress.

Maria was given an honorary degree from Columbia College. A crater on the moon was named for her. Posthumously, a tablet with her name was put in the New York University Hall of Fame, her name was carved in a frieze at the Boston Public Library, and she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. For more information visit the Maria Mitchell Association.