The building was made possible through a financial donation to the City of Muncie by Andrew Carnegie to expand their library system throughout the community.

[3] The design and building of the library was conducted by the architectural firm of Wing and Mahurin of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The exterior structure is made of Indiana Limestone and modeled after Greek and classical architectural forms.

The neoclassical architectural style includes a Romanesque dome located on the roof, in the central part of the library.

[3][4]: 2, 4 The Carnegie Library offers a variety of resources to aid researchers in discovering local history and their ancestry.