Shakespeare’s Globe has announced the opening of its new Research & Collections Centre, creating London’s only dedicated Shakespeare library and archive that is fully open and accessible to the public.
The new facility has been designed by Allies and Morrison and places research, scholarship and public engagement at the heart of Shakespeare’s Globe’s Bankside site.
The Research & Collections Centre includes the Audre D. Carlin Reading Room, offering access to more than 6,000 books covering Shakespeare, early modern literature, cultural history and the history of dramatic performance.
Visitors can also access Shakespeare’s Globe’s Performance Archive by appointment, including production records, recordings of performances, workshops, talks and special events.
A key feature of the new facility is the John Wolfson Rare Book Room, which houses Shakespeare’s Globe’s collection of original Renaissance texts. The collection includes nearly 500 plays, poems, novellas and historical works from the 16th and 17th centuries.
The development also includes the Wolfson Lecture Theatre, a climate-controlled archive store and the new Weston Foyer, where visitors can discover selected items from the organisation’s artistic and institutional archives.
Dr Will Tosh, Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe, said: “Our new Research & Collections Centre is a stunning, welcoming home at the heart of the Globe for curious visitors of all ages. I’m incredibly proud that we’re able to open a new library at a time when the arts and humanities are facing unprecedented pressure, and I’m so grateful to the very generous donors who have made this possible. At the Globe we’ve always believed that Shakespeare’s works are best enlivened when we combine scholarship with performance and public engagement, and our new facility will support that endeavour for years to come.”
Oliver Heywood, Director at Allies & Morrison, said: “Education and research have always been at the forefront of the Globe’s mission – long before they even had a theatre – but this work has never had a visible public presence on their Bankside site. The Research & Collections Centre brings the library, archive, and public reading rooms right into the heart of the building giving them the prominence they deserve.”
He added: “The project ensures the Globe’s impressive collection, which includes early editions of Shakespeare, Marlowe and Jonson, is properly cared for, accessible, and displayed as part of curated exhibitions in the new spaces.”
The opening marks a significant step forward for Shakespeare’s Globe’s educational and research work, offering scholars, students and the wider public unprecedented access to its collections and resources.
Visitors can now book sessions in the Audre D. Carlin Reading Room through the Shakespeare’s Globe website.
More information can be found here.
