in 1997 he moved to the boston athenaeum, serving for 12 years as the director and librarian. founded in 1807, the boston athenæum is one of the nation's oldest cultural institutions. with 7,000 members and collections that include 600,000 books and significant holdings of prints, photographs, paintings, statues, and manuscripts, the athenæum is a center for scholarly research as well as a resource for students, writers, and families. the athenæum completed a $30-million renovation and expansion project and a matching capital campaign in 2002; in 2007 it celebrated its bicentennial with a series of exhibitions and publications, including "boston collects" at the grolier club in new york.