Joanne Waxman Library
About
Online Resources New Books
Catalog Writing Center
Summer Closure
The Library is closed from Saturday, August 2, through Sunday, August 10.
Check the Academic Calendar for information related to holidays and building closures, as library operations generally correspond to the academic calendar. Weather-related closures will be posted to the library main page.
Membership
The Joanne Waxman Library is open to students, faculty, and staff of Maine College of Art & Design. Membership is available for an annual fee of $50 ($25 for adults aged 65 and above). Membership enables access to Joanne Waxman Library collections (including online resources) and ten simultaneous checkouts of library materials. Nonmembers may contact library staff for a browsing visit by appointment by calling 207.775.5153 or emailing library@meca.edu.
Our Joanne Waxman Library is a central hub for gathering and sharing knowledge on the second floor of the Porteous Building. Sunlight bathes the reading and study areas through enormous, Chicago-style windows that look out over Portland’s bustling Congress Street. A home to the Writing Center and Materials Collection, as well as a Book-Making Club, rotating exhibitions, the occasional crit, videogamers, researchers and nap-takers, the Library touches every aspect of the campus experience.
Mission Statement
Joanne Waxman Library supports the educational mission of Maine College of Art & Design by fostering excellence in library services and acquiring appropriate collections of print, electronic, audiovisual, and special collections materials that serve the College and the art community in general. The library aspires to promote information literacy and lifelong learning in a changing information environment and to foster cooperative endeavors and resource sharing within the artistic and educational community.
History
The Library was founded in 1973 while the College was still the Portland School of Art. It was named for Joanne Waxman, the first full-time librarian, hired in 1972. She was instrumental in planning and creating a vision of what the library could be and its role in the College.
The Library occupied a number of Portland locations from 1972 to 2000, including the Baxter Building (formerly the Portland Public Library building, now the headquarters for The VIA Agency). The Library moved to the current space in the Porteous Building in 2000, one of the first areas completed in the renovation and repurposing of this Portland landmark, formerly the home of the Porteous Mitchell & Braun department store.
Our Collection
The Library boasts one of the largest art collections in New England, numbering over 44,000 volumes, including many rare, out-of-print titles. The Library subscribes to craft publications, eJournals, media, zines, and artist books to support curricula across all studio and academic studies departments.
In recent years, library staff embarked on a project to decolonize library collections, in dialogue with a national movement to represent diverse perspectives in arts scholarship. The Library’s continuing mission is to offer access to collections, services, and spaces that inform and spark inquiry for artists and designers and better reflect our community as it grows.
We have a well-resourced library collection, including:
Books: 44,000+ volumes, including hundreds of artist books, art books, theses, graphic novels, and zines (some of which are student, faculty, and alumni-created work)
Media: 500+ titles, including streamable content
Materials: hundreds of physical items from a range of disciplines form an interdisciplinary, educational resource for artists exploring new and innovative physical materials in their work
Equipment: DVD players, WACOM tablets, Happy Lights, charging cables, extensions cords, measuring tape, and more
Unique: the Bill Caldwell Rare Books room, including a one-of-a-kind collection of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian art books.
Resources
Connect
Library staff may be contacted through library@meca.edu.
During regular library hours, you can call 207.775.5153.
Standard text messaging rates apply based on your cell phone plan with your account provider, for both messages you send and receive from us.