The Killam Memorial Library is the main library of

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, and the largest

academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

in the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

, comprising of space.

History

Designed by Leslie R. Fairn, the library was made possible by the donation of $30 million by Dorothy J. Killam in memory of her late husband

Izaak Walton Killam Izaak Walton Killam (July 23, 1885 – August 5, 1955) was a Canadian financier. Early life Born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, he was the son of William Dudman Killam and Arabella Hunter (Belle) Cann. Business ventures As a young banker with the ...

. The Killam Library replaced the former Macdonald Memorial Library, which had become too small for the student population. Construction began in 1966 and was completed in 1971. The open courtyard was covered by a glass ceiling in 1996, creating a year-round meeting area with food and a

Second Cup Second Cup Café, is a Canadian restaurant chain, coffee retailer, and roaster which operates more than 190 cafes nationwide. Its headquarters are in Pierrefonds, Québec. Its stores sell hot and cold beverages, pastries, snacks, pre-packaged foo ...

coffee shop. In 2010, a new master plan for the Dalhousie Campus proposed an expansion to the library by adding to the south and east sides of the structure and altering the look of the building by cladding the facade with a glass curtain wall. There is another library of the same name in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Library
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

References

Library buildings completed in 1971 Dalhousie University campus Libraries in Nova Scotia Academic libraries in Canada Brutalist architecture in Canada {{Canada-university-stub