In a Supporting Role: Libraries
National
Folger Shakespeare Library
201 East Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 544-4600
The Folger opened in 1932, as a gift to the American people from founders Henry and Emily Folger. Now home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and to major collections of other rare Renaissance books, manuscripts, and works of art, the Folger serves a wide audience of scholars, visitors, teachers, students, families, and theater- and concert-goers. Online resources include:
- Folger Digital Texts – Metriculously accurate texts from Folger Skakespeare Library, the number one Shakespeare texts in US Schools
- Hamnet– An online catalog of vault, open stacks, and electronic materials
- Digital Image Collection on LUNA – Images of Folger’s early printed books, manuscripts, and art
- Folgerpedia – A collaboratively-edited encyclopedia of all things Folger
- The Collation – A blog featuring scholarship from the Folger
Shakespeare Resource Center
facebook.com/shakespeareresource
Contact: J. M. Pressley
Launched in 1997, the Shakespeare Resource Center helps people who need to research Shakespeare. For example, on the Shakespeare Study page this site lists resources fitting the following criteria: academic/educational focus, institutional affiliation, scope of information, consistent presence on the internet, and cost-free access to information.
Seattle Area
Burian Actors Theatre Lending Library (BALL)
Library Housed at Bumbershoot Books
639 SW 152nd St
Burien, WA 98166
(206) 241-2665
Burian Actors Theatre (see main listing in Ch. 1: Professional Theatre) maintains a growing Lending Library with an online database of it’s current holdings. You can checkout any book in BALL. All BAT asks is that yo u return it when done with it. If you are cleaning your bookshelves and have theater books to share, let BAT know.
Central Branch Seattle Public Library
1000 Fourth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 386-4636
The downtown branch of the Seattle Public Library has a large selection of recorded books, plays and folk music which can be useful for finding dialect material. Visit webpage for other branch locations and hours.
University Of Washington Drama Library Room
145 Hutchinson Hall
Box 353950
Seattle, WA 98195-3950
(206) 543-5148
The UW Drama Library’s hours of operation change seasonally. Check website for current hours of operation. Everyone is welcome to use all the University of Washington libraries, but there are special check-out and use rules for the general public.
Portland
Portland State University
Theatre and Drama Library
1875 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97201
Mailing Address:
Post Office Box 1151
Portland, OR 97207-1151
guides.library.pdx.edu/theater
This guide will help you begin your research in theater & drama through the library’s collections and beyond.
- Find Articles – search for articles online and in print.
- Find Books – find plays and anthologies in print.
- Find Reference Sources – provides background information on your topic.
- Find Plays & Monologues
- Web Sources – find quality resources on theater and drama on the web.
- Citing Sources – information on citation formats, citation management tools and more.