Orlin is a highly cited expert on private domestic life during the Renaissance and specializes in works of Shakespeare. She is recognized for interdisciplinary scholarship in literature, history, art, and architectural history. Orlin has received fellowships with the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the English Association. She is also an elected fellow of the Royal Honor Society, United Kingdom. Orlin serves on the editorial boards of the journals Shakespeare Studies and Shakespeare Survey and of the publication series Oxford Shakespeare Topics and Arden Shakespeare State of Play. She chairs the Board of Governors of the New Variorum Shakespeare. Orlin will collaborate with faculty and students from the College of Liberal Arts and University Libraries.