Shakespeare's Library

Step back in time into an Elizabethan library with authentic 17th-century period furnishings, tin ceiling tiles and wall panels, surrounded by 3,000 leatherbound Medieval and Renaissance books, manuscripts, and maps. An evocative space, ideal for photo shoots or an extraordinary writer’s retreat. The Rasmussen Hines Collection is a private library of rare books and manuscripts assembled by Eric Rasmussen and Victoria Hines, nestled high in the Sierra Nevada mountains among ten acres of forest, orchards, and gardens. We are an independent research library with collection strengths in early English printing, Shakespeare and Renaissance drama, and the work of 16th- and 17th-century women printers and publishers. We are committed to cultivating the humanities, creating new opportunities for discovery and engagement, nurturing ethical and rigorous scholarship and creativity, and ensuring that the collection is preserved for the future. We serve a community of artists, writers, schoolchildren, lifelong learners, bibliophiles, poets, actors, and scholars based in Northern California and Nevada as well as visiting fellows.