Mackay Reading Room

The Mackay Reading Room is named after Colin B. Mackay, who was president of the University of New Brunswick from 1953 to 1969. He is the man in the stained-glass portrait at the back of the room. Colin B. Mackay was instrumental in moving the law school from Saint John to UNB Fredericton. Upon his death in 2003, he left the Law Library a large donation that we still use to purchase books, journals, and other educational materials to enrich our collection.

The Mackay Reading Room is where you will find case reporters and statutes. Case reporters are books that court cases are published in. Stacks 151–163 contain jurisdictional case reporters, which are reporters that publish cases from specific provincial or court jurisdictions, such as the Supreme Court Reports, the New Brunswick Reports, and the Ontario Reports.

Stacks 164–171 contain print copies of federal and provincial legislation, which includes acts and regulations. Current legislation is available online, but if you ever need to do historical legislative research, you’ll find what you’re looking for in here.

The mezzanine level above, which we’ll visit in Station 10, contains topical case reporters. These are case reporters based on a topic, such as the Administrative Law Reports, Family Law Reports, and the Canadian Patent Reporter.

The Mackay Room also has several study tables and carrels, which are small desks or cubicles that allow students to study quietly with a bit of privacy. You’ll find study tables and carrels throughout the library.

As you leave the Mackay Room, you’ll see an elevator to your right. The elevator is locked, and only staff members and librarians have keys. This is for security reasons, as the elevator goes down to the first floor of the law school, which doesn’t allow us to keep track of our books and materials. However, if you need to access the elevator for accessibility reasons, let us know and we can provide you with your own key.