Folger Shakespeare Library Field Trip and Grant Proposal

Folger Shakespeare Library
Field Trip and Grant Proposal

Sharon Reilly

INFO 520

Professor Toni Carbo

May 20, 2012

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Sharon Reilly

May 20, 2012

Choosing a library to visit and write about was difficult for me, because I am fortunate enough to live in an area with a multitude of great options. I settled on the Folger Shakespeare Library for several reasons. First of all, as a Shakespeare fan, I was excited to see some of the art and theater memorabilia in their collection. Also, having studied the history of printing, I was intrigued by their extensive collection of early English and continental European books. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet with the Louis B. Thalheimer Head of Reference, Dr. Georgianna Ziegler, who took the time to answer my questions and showed me around the facility, including the vault where they store some of their most valuable books.

Dr. Ziegler obtained her doctorate in early modern English and French literature from the University of Pennsylvania. After teaching English literature for several years at Davidson College and Wofford College, she returned to the University of Pennsylvania, where in addition to teaching, she served as Curator of the Horace Howard Furness Shakespeare Library in the Rare Book Department. In order to meet the challenges of that position, she decided to study Library and Information Science at Drexel University. Dr. Ziegler has a strong interest in early women authors and has curated several exhibitions at the Folger on that subject, including an exhibit on display when I visited entitled Shakespeare’s Sisters: Voices of English and European Women Writers, 1500-1700. Although she is not a member of any library associations, she is active in the Shakespeare Association of America and the Renaissance Society of America.

The Folger Shakespeare Library was opened in 1932 by Henry Clay Folger and his wife Emily Jordan Folger as a gift to the American people and is administered by Amherst College, where Folger’s lifelong interest in Shakespeare began. According to Emily Folger, Henry believed about Shakespeare that “the poet is one of our best sources, one of the wells from which we Americans draw our national thought, our faith and our hope” (“History of the Folger,” n.d.), which is why he located the library in Washington, D.C. The Folgers’ extensive collection of Shakespearean materials provided the foundation for the library’s collection, although it has been greatly expanded in the past eighty years. The current collection comprises art, manuscripts, theater memorabilia and playbills, modern books, early continental European books and the third largest collection of early English books from 1475 and 1640. Only the British Library and the Bodleian Library at Oxford University have more of these rare volumes. (“Printed Books: Early English Books,” n.d.).

The actual library is just a part of a larger organization that also comprises the Folger Institute, a center for advanced studies, and the Folger Theatre. The organization’s mission statement, which Dr. Ziegler believes was updated with the arrival of their new director, Michael Witmore in 2011 reads, “The mission of the Folger Shakespeare Library is to preserve and enhance its collections; to render the collections, in appropriate formats, accessible to scholars; and to advance understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare's writings and of the culture of early modern Europe more generally through various programs designed for all students and for the general public.” (“About Us,” n.d.) The library itself employs about 35 people. Dr. Ziegler was able to share an organization chart, but it was about three years old and out of date, so with her help, I was able to recreate an updated chart, which is included at the end of this paper.

Due to the rarity and value of the collection, the Folger Shakespeare Library is not open to the general public, although they have many resources available to the public via their website. A prospective user must apply to be a reader, and readers tend to be professors, librarians and graduate students. The library serves about 700 to 900 different readers per year, from all over the U.S. and about twenty-five other countries. They general have about twenty-five to thirty-five readers a day; although during breaks in the school year they can have as many as seventy-five per day. Their modern books are classified using the Library of Congress system, with a few modifications. For example, they shelve their Shakespearean plays by the edition, not by the play as most other libraries do. The rare books, excluding the early English books, are classified either using the Library of Congress system or their acquisition number. The early English books are classified by their STC or Wing numbers. STC refers to the Short-Title Catalogue, which includes all books printed in England or in English between 1475 and 1640. Wing takes its name from Donald Wing's Short-Title Catalogue of works printed from 1641 to 1700. The Folger’s manuscripts are classified using their own system. About two-thirds of the art, manuscripts, Shakespearean materials and early English books are cataloged, which they were able to do onsite thanks to grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Their approximately 30,000 continental European books still need to be catalogued, which will be a priority in the next few years.

The Folger Library has some unusual policies. The first I became aware of is that pens are forbidden. Due to the rarity and value of their materials, an ink blot could be a costly disaster. Also due to the special nature of their collection, they do not participate in inter-library loans, although they have a number of materials which can be accessed electronically, and Dr. Ziegler responds to information requests from around the world. Although a great deal of their collection has been digitized, they do allow scholars to take their own photos. However, they have a lengthy camera use policy sheet that must be signed by the users which spells out how the work must be handled, how the images can be used and how to credit the library. Images for commercial use must be purchased from the Folger. The library staff must retrieve rare items for the readers, but they do allow readers to browse the stacks in the modern section.

Although the Folger Shakespeare Library’s renown comes largely from their collection of rare early books and manuscripts, they offer an impressive selection of digital materials and subscription databases. Dr. Ziegler chairs a reference committee, made up of the curators, head of acquisitions and the head of Collection Information Services, which decides which e-resources they will purchase. The Folger has digitized a portion of their collection, which can be accessed through their website. This digital collection includes high resolution images of art, books, manuscripts and other items from their collection. Readers can access databases and finding aids, such as the Folger Library Microfilms Database and the Union First Line Index of English Verse, as well as a large number of subscription resources such as the American Council of Learned Societies History E-Book Project, the Bibliography of Early Women Writers, Burke's Peerage and Gentry, and Early English Books Online (EEBO) among many others.

Dr. Ziegler was satisfied with the use that the Folger Library gets, both online and in person. As an internationally respected collection of Shakespearean items, rare books and modern scholarship, they are used by serious scholars from around the world. Of course, they rely on grants and donations for many of their programs, but organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have funded a number of programs allowing them to remain one of the premier institutions of their kind. With their collection of original manuscripts and rare books, combined with such extensive electronic resources, they provide a fascinating glimpse of the past and the future of our profession.


About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=2881&CFID=35471525&CFTOKEN=58687085

History of the Folger. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.folger.edu/Content/About-Us/History/

Printed Books: Early English Books. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.folger.edu/collslideshow.cfm?collectionid=76

Grant Proposal to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Folger Shakespeare Library: Cataloging the Early Continental European Book Collection

Executive Summary

The Folger Shakespeare Library proposes to catalog its collection of over 30,000 rare early Continental European books. This collection, one of the most extensive in the country, could provide an invaluable resource to scholars. However, until it is cataloged, it will be very difficult to study effectively. The study of rare books concerns the details of each individual volume, such as the printer or publisher, the edition, the date of publication, the physical condition, the provenance and any margin annotations by previous owners. Unfortunately, works in our European collection are often simply identified by a title on an acquisition list, which does not reveal any of the relevant information. Having this data cataloged in a searchable database could greatly improve access and potentially lead scholars into new and unanticipated line of inquiry. Over the past few years, the Folger Shakespeare Library has undertaken the cataloging of its vast collection of Shakespearean art, books and manuscripts as well as its collection of early English printed books, greatly improving access to scholars from around the world. Building on that project, which is almost two-third completed, the Folger Library would like to begin cataloging the continental books, including identifying books in need of conservation, and providing some basic protection by phase boxing approximately ten percent of the collection to prevent further damage to these valuable books until they can be treated in the library’s conservation lab. These evaluations are also critical to budgeting future conservation work on the books. The library requests $968,215 over a five year period to complete this important work.

The Folger Shakespeare Library

Opened in 1932 as a gift to the people of the United States from Henry Clay Folger and his wife Emily Jordan Folger, the Folger Shakespeare Library houses the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare materials. What is less known is that they house the third largest collection of early English books in the world and one of the largest collections of early continental European books in the United States. Seven to nine hundred scholars from around the world, including professors, librarians and graduate students, come to Washington, D.C. each year to study the Folger’s collections. These academics must apply to become readers at the library: due to the rarity and value of the works, the reading rooms are not open to the general public. The Folger also hosts undergraduate seminars on the history of the book. Many thousands more access their electronic resources through the internet, and the library holds many exhibits of rare items, mostly from their collections, that are open to the public.

The Folger Shakespeare Library is also the home of the Folger Theatre, where the public can enjoy the bard’s words brought to life in an Elizabethan style theater, and the Folger Institute, which was founded in 1970 and is dedicated to the study of the humanities. Located on Capitol Hill, across the street from the Library of Congress, the Folger Library’s collection contains over 250,000 books, 60,000 manuscripts, 200 paintings, 50,000 artworks on paper such as watercolors, photos, prints and drawings, 250,000 playbills and many other theatrical pieces such as costumes and souvenirs. The library’s staff of thirty-five includes curators of books, manuscripts and art, librarians in charge of reference and circulation, several conservation specialists, and a head of collection information services who oversees acquisitions and several digital specialists. They all work together to preserve, expand, catalog and maximize access to this invaluable collection.

Statement of Need

The Folger’s collection of early European books is an invaluable resource to scholars in various fields such as history, literature, women’s studies, social sciences, early printing and language development. Unfortunately, until these works are cataloged, it is very difficult to make use of the material. Some of the books can be located and identified by the lists of acquisitions, but many of the important identifying features cannot be determine from these lists. Much of the value of early printed books comes from physical characteristics of the books that help scholars identify which edition a book belongs too. Also, descriptions of the physical condition of the books, the collation of the pages, and any margin annotations or alterations by previous owners can be incredibly instructive to scholars. Unfortunately, none of these things can be determined by a list of titles with acquisition dates. Another valuable result of cataloging these books would be the chance to record the physical condition of the books. Books in need of immediate intervention can be phase boxed, which involves the construction of simple boxes of archival materials which can protect the books while they are on the shelves until plans can be made for more comprehensive conservation. Until the books are cataloged, an assessment of the overall physical condition of the collection cannot be made, and therefore budgeting and planning of the conservation of these valuable materials is impossible.

Developing and electronic catalog of these works is critical due to the limited access defined by the nature of a rare books collection. Scholars are not free to browse the stacks, but creating electronic databases can allow scholars a type of “virtual browsing” (Russell, 2003, p. 517). Also, the time and money involved in traveling to Washington, D.C. with no guarantee that the book listed on an acquisition list is in fact in the collection, is intact and is the edition the researcher requires could prove an unwise investment. The Folger Shakespeare Library’s goal of cataloging these books in order to assess their physical condition and provide an accurate description of all the books in this collection definitely meets the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s objective for the Scholarly Communications and Information Technology Program of supporting library and archive programs that seek to provide access and preserve items of cultural and academic importance.

Proposal

Having successfully cataloged much of the library’s collection, we already have the electronic infrastructure, including software, computers and servers, to accomplish the task of cataloging the 30,000 early continental European books in our collection. We plan on assigning one of our experienced catalogers to work full time on the European collection, along with two catalogers we bring in for the term of the project, overseen by our curator of books and our head of cataloging. We have determined the requirement of three full time catalogers working for five years based on an approximate rate of cataloging one book per hour. This figure was based on Buschman’s and Chickering’s average rate of 1.4 to 1.7 books per hour in academic libraries (2007), which we have adjusted based on the difficulties involved in cataloging rare books we have encountered in previous projects. However, as Bone describes, volumes with missing pages can take days to identify (2007). Therefore, we plan to evaluate the progress at the one year mark to determine what adjustments to staffing or schedule are required for the following year. As our staff examines the books, they shall identify books that require phase boxing, which shall be done concurrently with the cataloging. Initially, we expect to phase box about ten percent of the books. However, until we examine the volumes, we will not know how many will require additional protection.

Proposed Budget

3 rare book catalogers (including benefits) / $165,000
Conservator (approximately 30% time allocated to project) / $15,000
Phase box materials / $4,200
Total for 2013 / $184,200
Total for 2014 (adjusted for anticipated 2.5% annual inflation) / $188,805
Total for 2015 (adjusted for anticipated 2.5% annual inflation) / $193,525
Total for 2016 (adjusted for anticipated 2.5% annual inflation) / $198,363
Total for 2017 (adjusted for anticipated 2.5% annual inflation) / $203,322
5 year total / $968,215

Conclusion

The Folger Shakespeare Library’s collection of rare early continental European books is the fourth largest collection of its kind in the United States. Rare volumes such as these provide a fantastic resource to the scholar. Studying these books can open up whole new fields of studies. For example, many women writers who had been lost to history have been rediscovered in the past forty years through examining rare book and manuscript collections. Imagine how much more there is to uncover. Cataloging the books is the first step to unlocking the secrets long buried. With the our current levels of digital technology which are continually improving, getting the information collected digitally will provide scholars with much greater ability to search and cross reference different collections, which may allow them to see patterns and trends they would never have been able to discover from acquisition lists. While the collection has value in its current state, it will be of much more real value to the scholar once it has been cataloged.