To access the collection, the Athenaeum invites you to visit our online catalogue. Members can also use it to reserve items, renew items online, and save searches with a patron barcode, which can be obtained from a library staff member.

A member is entitled to have out at any one time: 5 art books, 5 music books, 5 graphic novels, 5 magazines, 5 LPs, 5 music scores, 5 CDs, 5 DVDs, and 5 videos. CDs, DVDs, and videos circulate for two weeks; all other material for four weeks unless otherwise stated. Borrowed material is automatically renewed twice, and no overdue fines are charged. Lost or damaged material must be paid in full.

MUSIC & VIDEO STREAMING: The Athenaeum is pleased to now be able to offer its members access to streaming platforms. Available are Naxos Music Library and Naxos Music Library Jazz.

ART BOOKS: More than 9,000 items are in this category. Included are books on art techniques, world art, catalogues raisonnés, artists' biographies, and historical surveys. An art reference section is anchored by one of the most important resources on art, The Grove Dictionary of Art, as well as auction catalogues, art and artist dictionaries, and other guides.

MUSIC BOOKS: Featured in this area are many composer and performer biographies, histories of the different eras of Western classical music, texts on theory and different musical instruments, and stylistic surveys. The music reference section also contains the second edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

YOUNG PEOPLE'S BOOKS: This small, yet impressive part of the library features many beautiful and unique books on the subjects of music and art aimed at a younger audience.  There are some special emphases, including a growing collection of all books that have won the Caldecott medal.

COMPACT DISCS: Now with over 12,000 items, it is one of the largest circulating CD collections in the area. Most prominent are the classical, jazz, and opera sections. Comprehensiveness is always a goal of the library staff, and the variety of composers and operas in the collection attests to this. In addition, the library supports the programming in its chamber music and jazz concert series with its acquisitions. Other subjects found in the collection include world, popular, folk, motion picture, and vocal music, as well as music for young people and holiday music.

LPs: The Athenaeum has a representative collection of classical and jazz music in this medium.

DVDs & VIDEOS: The library collection in these formats include art and music documentaries, foreign films, and award-winning films such as those from the Sundance and Cannes festivals, as well as all Academy Award winners.

CD-ROMs: Virtual museum tours, multimedia approaches to music and performances, and surveys of the works of a variety of artists for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems can be found in this format.

In addition to our regular collection, the Athenaeum also collects items of a more special nature, which do not circulate. The most prominent of these is the artists' books collection. In addition, the library's Special Collection contains books, videos, LPs, and other items that are rare or valuable.

ARTISTS' BOOKS: A special focus of the Athenaeum's collection has become its artists' books, which have proved to be of interest to not only our members but also scholars and researchers on an international level. The collection emphasizes the works of California artists and California presses, and is especially known for its collection of conceptual artists' books.

BACH WERKE: The library is also fortunate to have in its holdings the entire series issued by the Bach Gesellschaft between 1850 and 1900, one of the few libraries on the West Coast that does, allowing our members access to the complete works of this great composer of Western music.

Other items of interest in the Athenaeum's holdings include its collection of periodicals, music scores, and graphic novels.

PERIODICALS: The library contains a variety of art periodicals, many titles going as far back as the late 19th century. Many are unusual or foreign magazines that are not easily accessed elsewhere. Members may check out back issues for a period of four weeks.

MUSIC SCORES: The Athenaeum also has an extensive collection of scores for piano, solo wind and string instruments, and chamber music. A collection of miniature scores gives our members access to orchestral music.

POPULAR SHEET MUSIC: Another special part of the library is our large collection of popular sheet music from 1813 to the 1980s. Their beautiful cover art alone makes these significant cultural artifacts, but our members have also found this music to be a useful source of lyrics and melodies of the past century.

VERTICAL FILES: The vertical files comprise approximately 2900 legal-sized folders, which contain newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets, books, and photographs, as well as ephemera on a variety of subjects.  Divided into two primary sections, this collection includes files on individual artists, as well as another group of files on other subjects in the areas of music and the arts. While they can’t be checked out, they are a handy research tool that can be used in the library.

GRAPHIC NOVELS: Graphic literature, commonly referred to as graphic novels even though not all are in the novel genre, has become of great interest in the last few decades and been embraced by libraries, both public and academic. Combining words and pictures, this medium both informs and entertains. Although often associated with comic books and superheroes, graphic literature is so much more, and frequently deals with serious, adult subject matter. An abundance of titles on the arts and music are available, and provide stellar artwork combined with illuminating text. The subject matter ranges from the humorous to the suspenseful.

Pull up a chair and enjoy a book!