It was organized and opened to the public on April 13, 1919, by Guillermo Restun, the chief librarian from the Ilo-ilo branch.

The province of Cebu took charge of the initial collection and other maintenance and operating expenses.

The building was utilized as headquarters by the Japanese Army, and books were either dumped, ruined, or stolen.

The Cebu City government appropriated a budget for the library collection and other operating expenses.

The Cebu City Public Library and Information Center began 24-hour operations on March 9, 2018, upon the directive of Mayor Tomas Osmeña—the nation's first public library to do so.