Folger Shakespeare Library

The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of printed works by William Shakespeare and many rare items from the early modern period between 1500 and 1750 in Britain and Europe. The library was created by Henry Clay Folger and his wife, Emily Jordan Folger, and opened in 1932.

The Folger offers special programs for students and teachers to help people learn more about Shakespeare. The library hosts many events, such as plays, music performances, poetry readings, and exhibitions. It also produces books and journals, including Shakespeare Quarterly and teacher guides called Shakespeare Set Free.

The Folger Shakespeare Library is supported and managed by the Trustees of Amherst College. The building is recognized as important and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It helps protect and share rare and valuable historical materials.

History

Henry Clay Folger and his wife Emily Jordan Folger loved books about William Shakespeare. Henry started collecting these books in 1889 and kept collecting more for many years. After World War I, they decided to build a special library for their collection. They chose a place near the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and bought buildings there to make space.

The library’s cornerstone was placed in May 1930, but Henry passed away soon after. His wife Emily helped finish the library, and it opened on April 23, 1932, which is believed to be Shakespeare’s birthday. The library now has many special events and programs, like theater performances and poetry readings, which began in the 1970s.

Buildings and grounds

The main building of the Folger Shakespeare Library was designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret. Its white marble outside shows nine carved scenes from Shakespeare's plays, made by sculptor John Gregory. Inside, the building looks like an old English home with wooden walls and painted ceilings. Visitors can enjoy a large gallery, a gift shop, and an Elizabethan theatre.

Henry Folger first hired Alexander B. Trowbridge to help design the library, but Trowbridge suggested Paul Philippe Cret as the main architect. They chose a style that mixed old English design with classic looks to match other buildings nearby. The outside shows scenes from Shakespeare's famous plays. In 1959, a new wing was added, and in 2000, another building called the Haskell Center opened. The Folger also has houses for visiting scholars and readers.

The Reading Room opened in 1933 and has books easy for readers to find. It was renewed between 1977 and 1983, and a modern reading room was added in 1982. The room has special windows and a big stone fireplace that has never been used. One window shows a famous speech from As You Like It.

The Elizabethan Theatre was not meant for plays at first but later became a stage. The first play there was Julius Caesar in 1949. The theatre can hold about 260 people and has a painted ceiling with words from As You Like It.

There is also an Elizabethan Garden with plants from Shakespeare's plays, and a west garden with a statue of Puck. The library closed for big updates from 2018 to 2024 and reopened in June 2024 with new learning spaces, exhibits, gardens, and a cafe called Quill & Crumb.

Library

The Folger Shakespeare Library has the world's biggest collection of things about William Shakespeare, from the 16th century to today. It is most famous for having 82 copies of the 1623 First Folio—the first book with all of Shakespeare's plays—and over 200 early printed copies of his plays, called quartos.

The library also has many other important books and items. It has lots of English books printed before 1641 and books from Europe, too. You can find old playbills, scripts, costumes, and artwork about Shakespeare’s plays. The library’s collection includes over 250,000 books, special handwritten papers from famous people, and many other items that help us learn about life long ago.

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Research and education

The Folger Shakespeare Library has special programs for students, teachers, and researchers. The Folger Institute helps advanced researchers with fellowships. It also holds classes, workshops, and meetings for teachers and students. It works with many universities and has centers for studying Shakespeare and British history.

The Education department helps students and teachers learn about Shakespeare from elementary through high school. Teachers can attend special programs at the Folger to learn new ways to teach Shakespeare. Students can join workshops, special projects, and festivals where they perform scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. There is also a summer program called the Teaching Shakespeare Institute for middle and high school teachers, where they study Shakespeare’s works with experts.

Performances and events

The Folger Shakespeare Library offers many cultural and arts programs. These include the Folger Theatre, Folger Consort, the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series, and the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. The library also hosts talks, screenings, lectures, and exhibitions.

Folger Theatre

The Folger Theatre puts on plays inspired by William Shakespeare. These include his famous works and new plays influenced by them. Since 1992, the theatre has performed over half of the plays in Shakespeare's First Folio. Performances take place in the theatre at the east end of the building.

Folger Consort

The Folger Consort is the library’s early music group, founded in 1977. The Consort performs medieval, Renaissance, and baroque music. They have concerts at the Elizabethan Theatre, the Washington National Cathedral, and the Music Center at Strathmore. The Consort also holds talks, discussions, and radio broadcasts.

O.B. Hardison Poetry Series

Since 1970, the Folger has invited famous poets to read their work, talk, and answer questions. This series is named after O.B. Hardison Jr., a former director of the Folger. Many well-known poets have taken part, including Octavio Paz, Gwendolyn Brooks, Allen Ginsberg, W. S. Merwin, Adrienne Rich, and Rita Dove, among others.

PEN/Faulkner

Together with the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, the Folger holds the PEN/Faulkner Reading Series. This brings contemporary authors to the library for public readings of their fiction. The Folger also hosts the annual PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction readings to celebrate the year’s best fiction writers.

Digital resources

The Folger Shakespeare Library has many online tools to help with learning and research. You can see over 80,000 images of books, art, and old papers. Anyone can use these images under a special sharing rule. There is also a wiki called Folgerpedia with facts about the library and its collections. You can read all of Shakespeare’s plays and poems online, and there is a place to see and learn about old letters and papers from history.

Leadership

The Folger Shakespeare Library has had seven directors and three acting directors who help manage the library.

Michael Witmore became the seventh director in 2011. He studies Shakespeare's texts using digital tools. Past directors include Joseph Quincy Adams, Louis Booker Wright, and Werner Gundersheimer. The current director is Dr. Farah Karim Cooper, who started in 2024.