The Greenwood Library has purchased perpetual access to Thomson Gale’s Shakespeare Collection online database. The Shakespeare Collection brings together general reference data, full-text scholarly periodicals, reprinted criticism, primary source material such as the Prompt Books and the Gordon Crosse Theatrical Diary, and the full-text annotated works from The Arden Shakespeare. Dr. Shawn Smith, Assistant Professor of English, was impressed by the photographs and paintings relevant to Shakespearean studies as well as by the wealth of primary and critical material. Comments from his students during a trial of the database last spring include:
- I found the images section helpful because I do enjoy seeing the way people stage things.
- One of my favorite things about the site was the section called historical texts in which you can view pictures of older texts.
- Having the plays, sonnets, etc. online in full text was GREAT.
- I really like the way the footnotes are set up in a separate little window. This is immensely helpful as you can read and have the notes right next to the text.
The Shakespeare Collection will be useful not only to English majors but also to the theatre department and any classes studying sixteenth- and seventeenth-century history and religion.