Research Essentials
OpenAthens
Use your OpenAthens single sign-on credentials to login to the catalog, request system, and your OpenAthens research portal. You will receive an OpenAthens username and activation code within 1-3 days of registering to use the library.
The OpenAthens research portal contains links to all essential Folger research resources and to the subscription databases available to registered researchers.
Register here.
Catalog
The Folger catalog contains bibliographic records for materials in the Folger collection (both physical and digital). Materials can be requested for consultation in the Reading Room directly from the catalog when logged in with OpenAthens.
Finding Aids
Finding aids for some of the Folger’s manuscript and archival collections. The finding aids give detailed descriptions about the historical context, arrangement, and content of collections. Materials can be requested for consultation in the Reading Room directly from the finding aids.
Request System
View, manage, and monitor your requests by logging in with your OpenAthens credentials.
Digital Collections
The Folger’s Digital Collections site offers online access to objects from the Folger’s collection, including books, theater memorabilia, manuscripts, and art. Users can browse or search objects, export high-resolution images, view transcriptions, and more.
Folger created and hosted resources
The Folger Shakespeare
The Folger Shakespeare, the digital editions of the Folger’s long-running Shakespeare editions, allows readers to access Shakespeare’s plays and poems easily and for free, including on mobile phones and tablets. Search for your favorite quote, or download the text as PDFs, XML, or docs.
Shakespeare Documented
A multi-institutional collaboration, the website brings together all known manuscript and print references to William Shakespeare, his works, and additional references to his family, in his lifetime and shortly thereafter.
The Collation
A blog featuring scholarship from the Folger. The Collation posts weekly and features items from the collections, research being done by staff and readers, and tips on using the library’s resources.
Folgerpedia
Folgerpedia is the Folger’s collaboratively-edited, search-based encyclopedia of all things related to the Folger or of interest to the Folger community. The articles are contributed by the staff of various departments within the institution, as well as Folger readers and other scholars.
Early Modern Manuscripts Online (EMMO)
EMMO offers online access to a substantial number of English manuscripts from the 16th and 17th centuries in Folger’s collection. The website has high-quality images and transcriptions of letters, diaries, wills, literary pieces, recipe books, miscellanies, and more.
Union First Line Index
The Union First Line Index enables cross-institutional literary research by providing a database of the first lines of manuscript verse held by contributing institutions. Researchers can enter keywords as search terms and limit by facets such as Shelfmark or Women only, and limit searches to specific institutions.
More resources
More online resources
All of these resources, more Folger created and hosted sites, and a whole long list of freely available sites that might be of interest are available on our Digital Resources List on Folgerpedia.
Use the library
For more information on visiting the library and using the Reading Room, including an FAQ.
Ask a Librarian
Have a question about using any of our online resources, an item in the collection, or doing research at the library? Get in touch with Researcher Services through Ask a Librarian.