Jackie MacKay Library

The Jackie Mackay Library is a resource library dedicated to craft and design. It is situated in the multi-purpose studio adjacent to the Mary E. Black Gallery at the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design on the Halifax Seaport, 1061 Marginal Road.

Jackie Mackay was an artist, weaver and Honourary Life Member of Craft Nova Scotia (formerly known as the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council). Following Jackie’s death in 2000, fellow artists Beverley McInnes and Nancy Stevens approached Craft Nova Scotia with the concept of a library devoted to the fine and applied arts, to honour the memory of their friend. The organization enthusiastically supported the project, a fund-raising campaign was initiated and the Jackie Mackay Library Collection became a reality. The library now includes books about interior design and architecture, art history and individual artists, spinning, weaving and embroidery, pottery and woodworking, jewellery and many other forms of creative endeavor; in short, books covering a wide range of subjects relating to art and craft, including history, criticism and “how to” manuals.

Donations to the library include artist Orland Larsen’s private collection, as well as many titles purchased with funds donated by family, friends and colleagues who wanted to remember Jackie.

At present the Jackie Mackay Library Collection is a reference library, comfortable and inviting for those seeking both information and inspiration. The hope is that in time it will become a lending library for Craft Nova Scotia members, students, curators, and craft historians. While this work is ongoing, Craft Nova Scotia is pleased to present the searchable online Jackie Mackay Library Collection.