The library was founded in 1886 in Jaffa at the initiative of the "Ezrat Israel" society ("Assistance to Israel") – the organization that helped to establish the first Jewish hospital in Jaffa and also initiated the construction of Neve Tzedek neighborhood.

In the period from 1921 to 1936, it occupied the Polac building at the intersection of Herzl and Ahad Ha'am streets.

The library later moved to Ze'ev Gloskin building on Montefiore Street.

The Library includes more than half a million books in different languages (Hebrew, English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Yiddish).

The Library provides its visitors access to databases in various fields of knowledge (in Hebrew and in English); registered borrowers may use this service from their homes.