UBC Library is excited to support First Folios Compared, a landmark Open Access project, by contributing the digitized version of UBC’s first edition of William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies to a collection of digital folios from around the globe.
First Folios Compared is an Open Access website of Shakespeare First Folios, created and hosted by AM. The resource, which launched in 2023 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the First Folio’s publication, brings together digitized copies—from institutions around the world—of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the first ever collected edition of William Shakespeare’s plays, published in 1623. As a participating institution, UBC Library joins a distinguished, global list of contributors.
First Folios Compared represents a powerful new tool for researchers, students and instructors alike, with unprecedented searchability functions and the ability to make side-by-side comparisons of 47 unique copies of the First Folio, sourced from 23 locations. Each First Folio included in the project is distinguished by a unique identifier, using the Shakespeare Census site’s numbering system. UBC’s First Folio, identified as SC 5174, is only the second copy in a public collection in Canada.
UBC’s First Folio arrived at UBC Vancouver campus in September 2021, and its acquisition was announced in January 2022. Digitization was completed by UBC Library’s Digitization Centre in November 2022 and made publicly available through UBC Library Open Collections.
By participating in First Folios Compared, UBC Library is proud to contribute to an Open Access project that fosters new opportunities for collaborative scholarship.