Its predecessor was Shi Jing Library, which was built in the second year of Xuantong in Qing Dynasty (19 10). 19 12 was officially opened, and 1928 was renamed as National Beiping Library, and was renamed as Beijing Library after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Its collection history can be traced back to more than 700 years ago. The museum was built in 193 1, with an original area of 8,000 square meters, and now it has increased to nearly 40,000 square meters. From 1949 to1400,000 in 1979, the collection of books has reached10,000,000, including ancient and modern classics of more than 20 nationalities in China and hundreds of thousands of rare books. It also focuses on collecting foreign language publications in 1 15 languages, including English, Russian and Japanese.

It is the largest and richest national library in China, providing important information on world culture, economy, science and technology, social history and other aspects for academic research from different angles such as reading, borrowing, taking photos, copying and reporting.