The Library

Located on the second floor, the Hampden-Booth Library was originally two large rooms, each with its own fireplace and mantel of red African marble. Over one mantel is a quote from The Tempest: "My library was Dukedom large enough for me." Over the other, from Titus Andronicus: "Take choice of all my library." A popular work spot for stage and screen writers among the membership, it is also a favorite location for evening talks, discussion groups, and intimate dinners. Its collection (only a small portion of which is housed in this traditional space) is governed by The Players Foundation for Theatre Education. Their dynamic holdings of books, manuscripts, photographs, prompt books, notebooks and more than 50,000 playbills began with Booth's personal library. In 1957, the Library was chartered by the State of New York as an educational institution and two years later opened its doors for the first time to qualified researchers and students of the theatre. The collection is an active destination for academic research and is considered one of the finest repositories of theatre references, art, and memorabilia of its kind.