The Shakespeare Quartos Archive - a joint project of the Folger Shakespeare Library and the University of Oxford, with the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities at the University of Maryland - is a freely-accessible, high-reolution digital collection of the 75 pre-1641 quarto editions of Shakespeare's plays.

"There will be countless new ways for scholars, teachers, and students to examine the quarto texts, particularly of Hamlet, thanks to this landmark gift from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Joint Information Systems Committee,” says Folger Director Gail Kern Paster. “The Shakespeare Quartos Archive heralds the future of textual studies, bringing these rare early texts out of their separate archives and onto the screens of individual scholars."

In the absence of surviving manuscripts, the quartos—Shakespeare’s earliest printed editions—offer the closest known evidence of what Shakespeare might actually have written, and what appeared on the early modern English stage. They are of immense interest to scholars, teachers, editors, and theater directors, yet due to their rarity and fragility, the earliest quartos are not readily available for most to study. The Shakespeare Quartos Archive will make these earliest quartos freely accessible for in-depth study to Shakespeare students across the globe.

In addition to making available digital surrogates of the seventy-five quarto editions of William Shakespeare's plays, the Shakespeare Quartos Archive will also develop an interactive interface and toolset for the detailed study of the quartos, with full functionality applied to all 32 copies of Hamlet, held at participating institutions, including the British Library, the University of Edinburgh Library, the Huntington Library, and the National Library of Scotland. Users will be able to overlay text images, compare text side-by-side, search full-text, and annotate and tag images. The prototype will be tested by the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham. The hope is to eventually apply this full-level functionality to all the plays in quarto editions.

"The JISC/NEH initiative gave us the opportunity and the incentive to attempt a truly international, collaborative, digital project,” explains Richard Kuhta, Eric Weinmann Librarian at the Folger. “The guidelines challenged us to think collectively about what was possible, and to realize a shared ambition. It was exactly the prompt we needed to launch a conversation that transformed geographically distant collections into partner institutions."

“The JISC/NEH grant program encourages international collaboration on humanities projects of value to scholars worldwide,” said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. “Award recipients in the U.S. and U.K. are working together to create digital archives, centralize holdings, and develop tools to improve humanities research online. These projects embody the best of the digital humanities and advance the mission of the Endowment.”

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Folger Shakespeare Library is a world-class center for scholarship, learning, culture, and the arts. It is home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period (1500–1750). Folger Shakespeare Library is an internationally recognized research library offering advanced scholarly programs in the humanities; an innovator in the preservation of rare materials; a national leader in how Shakespeare is taught in grades K–12; and an award-winning producer of cultural and arts programs – theater, music, poetry, exhibits, lectures, and family programs. By promoting understanding of Shakespeare and his world, Folger Shakespeare Library reminds us of the enduring influence of his works, the formative effects of the Renaissance on our own time, and the power of the written and spoken word. A gift to the American people from industrialist Henry Clay Folger, the Folger Shakespeare Library – located one block east of the U.S. Capitol – opened in 1932. Learn more at www.folger.edu

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities. NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, new technologies, exhibitions, and programs in libraries, museums, and other community places. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at www.neh.gov.

The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) is a joint committee of the U.K. further and higher education funding bodies and is responsible for supporting the innovative use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support learning, teaching, and research. It is best known for providing the JANET network, a range of support, content and advisory services, and a portfolio of high-quality resources. Information about JISC, its services and programs can be found at www.jisc.ac.uk/, or contact Philip Pothen by email at p.pothen@jisc.ac.uk.