Friends, Romans, library nerds! The State Library’s best kept secret — a hidden  library dedicated to celebrated playwright William Shakespeare — is set to  open seven days a week for the first time in its history.  

According to State Librarian John Vallance: “The Shakespeare Room is one of  Sydney’s true hidden gems. After being closed for three years due to COVID,  we are pleased to be able to again welcome Shakespeare fans and visitors alike  to this unique slice of Tudor England.” 

The Shakespeare Memorial Library, as it was known, was built to  commemorate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. The  Shakespeare Society of NSW held a lavish tercentenary ball in 1916 to raise funds for the room to be built on the ground floor of the State Library’s historic  Mitchell wing. 

Work was delayed due to the outbreak of the First World War, and the  beautiful Tudor-style room was not finished until the early 1940s. Inside you’ll  find hundreds of books by and about Shakespeare, as well as stained-glass  windows that depict the seven ages of man from his play As You Like It. The  intricate design of the plaster ceiling is modelled on Cardinal Wolsey’s closet at  Hampton Court Palace.  

Throughout its history the Shakespeare Room has attracted thousands of  people, including famous visitors like classic performers Sir Laurence Olivier  and Thelma Scott, and modern icons including Nick Cave, Paul Kelly and Kasey  Chambers. 

“The Shakespeare Room, along with the Mitchell Reading Room of course, will  no doubt become a popular attraction for ‘library tourists’ as we prepare for  global celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio,”  says Dr Vallance.

The State Library holds the only known copy of the rare 1623 First Folio in  Australia — titled Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies — where 18 of Shakespeare’s original plays were published for the first time. 

“There are no original manuscripts in the Bard’s hand, so this volume is the  closest a reader can get to the original source of many of Shakespeare’s most  loved plays,” says the State Library’s rare book expert, Maggie Patton.  

This rare volume, along with the Second, Third and Fourth Folios, also held by  the Library, will be the centerpiece in the Library’s upcoming exhibition, For All  Time: Shakespeare in Print, opening 8 July 2023. 

The Shakespeare Room is open 7 days a week, starting from Monday 24 April  2023. See opening hours: www.sl.nsw.gov.au