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The Collation

SAA? FSL!

B&W photo of the Folger Reading Room from 1931
B&W photo of the Folger Reading Room from 1931

UPDATE: The Reading Room will be open from 9 am – 4:30 pm on Saturday, April 20, 2019. Please note that the docent-led public tour of the space will still take place from noon to 1pm, as usual, so researchers who would find that disturbing are advised to plan a lunch break accordingly.


Are you attending the Shakespeare Association of America’s 2019 annual conference in Washington D.C. this April? If you are, the Folger Shakespeare Library would like to invite you to research with us during your time here! Your scholarship and our collection go hand in hand—we look forward to welcoming you to the Folger.

B&W photo of the Folger Reading Room from 1931.

There’s a little more color in our Reading Rooms these days. Photo from Luna. And 1931

Research with us!

We want to help make your research visit easy and productive.

If you are a returning researcher, please make sure that you have created an online request account here. You do not need to submit a new letter of reference. You may send us an email at registrar@folger.edu to let us know you’ve registered and are coming for SAA.

If you want to research with us for the first time, we will be glad to welcome you! Create your online request account and send us an email at registrar@folger.edu to let us know you’ve registered and are coming for SAA. Bring your SAA badge and government-issued ID when you arrive at the Folger, and we’ll waive the reference letter requirement. You may arrive to research before SAA begins—just send us an email to let us know your plans.

Reading Room hours around SAA

Please note that the Reading Room will be closed on Monday, April 15.

Tuesday-Friday (April 16-19), the Reading Room will be open from 8:45 am – 4:45 pm, with Folger Tea each day from 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm.

On Saturday (April 20), the Reading Room will be open from 9 am – 12 pm and 1 pm – 4:30 pm 9am – 4:30 pm. Do note that tea is not served on Saturdays.

Place your vault material requests

Once your account has been approved, you may begin to schedule vault material requests. In your online request account

  • Select the “Vault material request” link
  • Fill out the form
  • Note “SAA” in the Special Requests/Instructions section
  • Schedule your request and submit!

Once the status of the request is “Item on hold” you may retrieve it from the Reading Room desk.

To help our SAA colleagues make the most of their visit to D.C., Library staff will page vault materials Saturday, April 20! We will try to page as much material as we can, however, we reserve the right to cancel requests due to increased demand, item condition, or restricted status. We appreciate you submitting only your most essential requests.

Want to let us know you will join us the week of SAA? Please email registrar@folger.edu. Have a research question in advance of your visit? Ask a librarian at reference@folger.edu. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

Helpful links

E-resources: https://folgerpedia.folger.edu/List_of_digital_resources_at_the_Folger
Hamnet: https://hamnet.folger.edu
Searching in Hamnet: https://folgerpedia.folger.edu/Searching_in_Hamnet
Finding Aids: https://findingaids.folger.edu/
Digital Image collections: https://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet
Online request account: https://request.folger.edu/

While you’re here…

Visit our exhibition, opening April 13, A Monument to Shakespeare: The Architecture of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

We will celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday in style this year, on April 14, 2019. Check out our plans for the bash on our website.

Or, reserve a seat for our annual birthday lecture Monday, April 22, by Gina Bloom entitled “Rough Magic: Performing Shakespeare through Gaming Technology.”

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