Hennepin County gives Athenaeum a home

The county board is renewing its ties with the 152-year-old Athenaeum, which formed the foundation for the Minneapolis Public Library.

Some settlers may have brought a few books with them. Among those would surely have been a family Bible. The need for more was met at first by L.W. Stratton, a storekeeper in St. Anthony, whose Farmer’s Exchange offered popular novels, magazines and newspapers from the East. But books about nature, history and literature were scarce.

Athenaeum Fellow, 2018, Annika Johnson’s notes on the Native American Peoples Collection

I'm honored to begin 2018 as the first Artist in Residence at the Minneapolis Athenaeum. It's the oldest library and nonprofit in Minneapolis. The rare book collection, housed in the downtown Hennepin County Library, includes the Spencer Natural History Collection, including botanical books.

Browse the bookplate image collection.