Enjoy great stories | Explore what makes you curious | Share the best in art, history, and literature with friends and family at the world’s largest Shakespeare collection.

Tell us your story/detailed overview

The Folger Shakespeare Library makes Shakespeare’s stories and the world in which he lived accessible. Anchored by the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, the Folger is a place where curiosity and creativity are embraced and conversation is always encouraged. Visitors to the Folger can choose how they want to experience the arts and humanities, from interactive exhibitions to captivating performances, and from pathbreaking research to transformative educational programming. The Folger seeks to be a catalyst for: Discovery. The Folger’s collection is meant to be used, and it is made accessible in the Folger’s Reading Room to anyone who is researching Shakespeare or the early modern world. The Folger collection has flourished since founders Henry and Emily Folger made their first rare book purchase in 1889, and today contains more than 300,000 objects. The Folger Institute facilitates scholarly and artistic collections-based research, providing research opportunities, lectures, conversations, and other programs to an international community of scholars. Curiosity. The Folger designs learning opportunities for inquisitive minds at every stage of life, from tours to virtual and in-person workshops. Teachers working with the Folger are trained in the Folger Method, a way of teaching complex texts like Shakespeare that enables students to own and enjoy the process of close reading, interrogating texts, discovering language with peers, and contributing to the ongoing human conversation about words and ideas. Participation. The Folger evolves with each member and visitor interaction. Our exhibition halls, learning lab, gardens, theater, and historic spaces are open to be explored and to provide entry points for connecting with Shakespeare and the Folger’s collection, as well as forming new pathways to experiencing and understanding the arts. Creativity. The Folger invites everyone to tell their story and experience the stories of and inspired by Shakespeare. Folger Theatre, Music, and Poetry are programmed in conversation with Folger audiences, exploring our collective past, present, and futures. Shakespeare’s imagination resonates across centuries, and his works are a wellspring for the creativity that imbues the Folger’s stage and all its programmatic offerings.

When open (hrs.)

The Folger is open Tuesday – Friday from 11am – 6pm, with extended Friday hours until 9pm. We are closed Mondays.

Need To Know/Community Rules

We truly appreciate your presence in our community, and your support means the world to us. As a café, we’re grateful when you savor our delicious offerings and share your appreciation through generous tips. Your kindness helps us keep our mission alive. Here are other tidbits for you: Choose either the Great Hall or restrictive Reading Room. The Great Hall has transformed into a public gathering place, and is home to the new Folger café, Quill & Crumb, which offers lunch, baked goods, grab-and-go options, and more. The Reading Room is a space dedicated to research and discovery. Its purpose is centered on access to collections and resources unique to this library. Activities within the space must be consistent with the room’s intended purpose. See reading room policies - https://www.folger.edu/research/use-the-library/reading-room-policies/. Embrace your place—this is where you truly belong!