[2] Designed by architect John Madin in the brutalist style, the library was part of an ambitious development project by Birmingham City Council to create a civic centre on its new Inner Ring Road system; however, for economic reasons significant parts of the master plan were not completed, and quality was reduced on materials as an economic measure.

The previous library, designed by John Henry Chamberlain, opened in 1883 and featured a tall clerestoried reading room.

Despite the original vision not being fully implemented, the library gained architectural praise as an icon of British brutalism with its stark use of concrete, bold geometry, inverted ziggurat sculptural form and monumental scale.

The site had been acquired from the Birmingham and Midland Institute (BMI) in 1860 after the construction of their own building in 1857 on the corner of Paradise Street and Ratcliff Place.

Madin designed the Central Library as part of a large civic centre scheme on the newly created Paradise Circus site.

Originally planned to be built alongside the library was a School of Music, Drama Centre, Athletic Institute, offices, shops, public house, a car park with 500 spaces and a bus interchange.

The School of Music and a public house (The Yardbird) were the only other buildings in the original plans to be built and the high level walkways were never completed.

[12] The structure was supported on a square set of twelve reinforced concrete columns, built over the Inner Ring road and the uncompleted bus interchange.

[13] For the cladding Madin offered the council a choice of Portland stone or Travertine Marble to align with the adjacent civic buildings.

A third, cheaper option was pre-cast concrete with Hoptonwood limestone and Derbyshire spar aggregate with white cement: this was offered by Alan Maudsley, the City Architect, and accepted by the council as an economy measure.

[9][12] The entrance hall, which was double height between the lending and reference libraries, was entirely glazed on the side facing the atrium – an early example of a freestanding wall made of toughened glass.

The furniture for the library was specified by the architects, with a preference for oak veneer book stacks and black linoleum floor covering.

Spending cuts led to the council's decision to sell off the land surrounding the library, ending the vision of a publicly financed and owned civic centre occupying the entire site.

[12] Chamberlain House and the Copthorne Hotel were built to the west of the library in 1985–87 by Leonard J. Multon & Partners with wedge shaped ends.

[9] To the north of the library, where an Athletic Institute was originally to stand, a six-storey office block was built in 1988–89 by Leonard J. Multon & Partners.

[9] The space below was named Paradise Forum, originally proposed as an alfresco eating and entertainment area, but eventually leased to property companies who sublet the units to shops and fast food outlet tenants.

[15] In October 2011 the World Monuments Fund included the Central Library on its watch list of significant buildings at risk.

Instead, a site in Centenary Square, 150m to the west of the existing building, was chosen in 2007; and subsequently the new Library of Birmingham was built and opened on 3 September 2013.

In the intervening years Argent Group produced plans for the Paradise Circus site which did not include retention of the library building.

In February 2011 the library received a 5-year Certificate of Immunity from Listing[18] after an application from Birmingham City Council, which meant it could not be protected from demolition until 2016.

The commercial outlets of Paradise Forum closed in January 2015, and the library site was fenced off except for the pedestrian route linking Chamberlain and Centenary Squares.

On the second occasion, Margaret Hodge, the Minister for Culture, stated that "the building did not have sufficient historical or architectural importance to merit listing".

[18] In 2011 the World Monuments Fund included the library on its watch list along with Preston bus station stating that the buildings were dramatically sited and uncompromising in their stark use of concrete and powerfully structural forms.

Jonathan Meades appreciated the "guts and attack" of the library, and spoke negatively of the council's policies, stating "you don’t get a car and never get it serviced".

Brutalist architecture was becoming more appreciated in the 21st Century with the listing of Preston bus station, Trellick Tower and the rejuvenation of Park Hill in Sheffield.