“It is a tremendous honor to be elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society. The Society has been an important intellectual home for me since 2013, when I attended a summer seminar in Historic American Visual Culture as a first-year graduate student. I was dazzled by the reach and range of the collections and the expertise of the archivists and curators, but I also felt embraced by a warm and welcoming community of scholars. In 2019-2020 I had the great privilege of serving as the Hench Post-Dissertation Fellow, which afforded me the gifts of unparalleled collections access and time to write. Not only was I able to pursue every possible research thread related to my book project, but I also formed lasting friendships with other fellows and staff members, many of whom provided critical feedback on my research and invaluable mentorship. A great deal of what I teach my student at The College comes from my experience at AAS, and I would not be the scholar or teacher I am today if it were not for the support of the Society.”
-Rachel Miller
Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the American Antiquarian Society holds the world’s largest and most accessible collection of original printed, handwritten, and visual sources from before 1900 in what is now the United States. The library of over four million items includes books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, periodicals, children's literature, music, and graphic artsmaterial. AAS connects people across the globe with these collections through its digital catalog and resources, online exhibitions, and virtual learning experiences. In addition, it supports dozens of researchers, artists, and writers each year with a variety of fellowship programs.
The American Antiquarian Society is located at 185 Salisbury Street in Worcester, MA. The library is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The library is free and open to anyone with projects or interests related to the collections. All are welcome to join its free public programs held throughout the year. To learn more, visit americanantiquarian.org.