[1] The library began as the personal library of the founder, Ayatollah Marashi Najafi, a prominent Islamic scholar known for his dedication to religious scholarship and education throughout his life, who began collecting rare texts as a student, partly to keep them from being possessed by the British colonial authorities.

[3] Since Najafi's death, ownership and management of the library has since passed to his son, Mahmoud Marashi, who is instructed by his father's will.

It is situated one hundred yards from the Fatima Masumeh Shrine in Qom, where Marashi Najafi was a cleric, as well as being near his own tomb.

The cost of the library was at first personally financed by its founder and his descendants; but, beginning in 1997, the library began to be funded as a governmental institution, under Resolution 205 of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, with its operation still overseen by Marashi Najafi's family, but in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

[6] The possession, maintenance, and showcasing of Hebrew books once surprised some American and British rabbis, who were guests of the Iranian government, and who had allotted 3 hours of time to visit Qom.