The Shaw Research Library is open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday thru Saturday. No appointment necessary. Masks are required during your visit.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- May 23, 2022
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How We Can Build the Athenaeum of the Future
May 23, 2022 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Join Executive Director and Keeper Tom Hardiman for the discussion “How We Can Build the Athenaeum of the Future,” which will be available in two sessions, Monday, May 23rd or Thursday, May 26th at 5 p.m. in the John R. Shaw Research Library and via Zoom.Tom will give an informal overview of the many unexpected challenges that the Athenaeum has faced in recent years and how we are addressing those challenges. He will also show options and opportunities for us to build on our mission and envision an Athenaeum that will enhance our service to our members and the wider community for generations to come.
To participate, bring your questions and your best ideas for progress and come to the library on either day or request a Zoom link by emailing info@portsmouthathenaeum.org. This is certain to be just one of a series of discussions about what the Athenaeum might look like in 5, 15, or 25 years.
With limited in-person seating, please call 603-431-2538 to reserve your spot.
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- May 26, 2022
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Reading Room Tour
May 26, 2022 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Tour the historic first-floor Reading Room. Donations suggested.
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How We Can Build the Athenaeum of the Future
May 26, 2022 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Join Executive Director and Keeper Tom Hardiman for the discussion “How We Can Build the Athenaeum of the Future,” which will be available in two sessions, Monday, May 23rd or Thursday, May 26th at 5 p.m. in the John R. Shaw Research Library and via Zoom.Tom will give an informal overview of the many unexpected challenges that the Athenaeum has faced in recent years and how we are addressing those challenges. He will also show options and opportunities for us to build on our mission and envision an Athenaeum that will enhance our service to our members and the wider community for generations to come.
To participate, bring your questions and your best ideas for progress and come to the library on either day or request a Zoom link by emailing info@portsmouthathenaeum.org. This is certain to be just one of a series of discussions about what the Athenaeum might look like in 5, 15, or 25 years.
With limited in-person seating, please call 603-431-2538 to reserve your spot.
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HOURS
Shaw Research Library &
Randall Gallery
Tuesday through Saturday
1 to 4 p.m.

Portsmouth Athenaeum’s 2022 Lecture Series
Join us this year for the Portsmouth Athenaeum 2022 Lecture Series “Portsmouth, NH: Evolution 1623-2023” with five excellent speakers and topics related to Portsmouth’s 400 years of rich, cultural, and fascinating history!
ICYMI the Athenaeum’s Spring Newsletter 2022
Read what’s been happening and what’s to come here at the Portsmouth Athenaeum.
Keeper’s Report 2021
2021 was a strange and confounding year. We had a number of great successes and a maddening number of losses and setbacks.
We, the Proprietors of the Portsmouth Athenaeum, associate to promote learning and advance useful knowledge among our constituents and the wider community by facilitating convivial interchange and intellectual discourse; maintaining our historic buildings and library; and collecting and preserving materials relevant to the history and culture of Portsmouth and the Piscataqua Region.