Four daily newspapers were provided as well as Catholic weeklies from England, USA, Canada, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

[1] The Library continued to grow and expand over the following years, but on 9 March 1932 disaster struck: a serious fire destroyed the garage underneath the Reading Room.

In June 2016, a proposal by the Library's Board to move its holdings from its Merrion Square location to a secular university sparked opposition from many of its members, 50 of whom held a protest outside its premises.

[3] The library’s AGM was due to be held on 22 June but was postponed “for a number of reasons”, according to the company secretary David McEllin.

After the AGM in September, on 24 October six board members of the library resigned in protest over the decision to reject a take-over proposal from Dublin City University.

Those who resigned from the 18-person board were Fr Brendan Comerford (treasurer), Frank Litton, Felix Larkin, Peter Costello (honorary librarian), Michael Sheehy and Tony White.

Stephen Brown Research and Reference Library This, the main reading room, has sections on Christology, the Old and New Testament, the Fathers of the Church, moral theology, literature (in particular that of Ireland, England, France, Italy and Spain), philosophy, Marian Studies, history, church music, and the religious orders.

They are shelved separately from the core collections, and contain many books dealing with non-Catholic traditions, including Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and other denominational groups.

Jerome Room This holds a collection of approximately 1,200 books printed before 1850, with the earliest titles going back to the sixteenth century.

As well as hosting talks and exhibitions, the library has participated in a number of annual events such as Heritage Week and Culture Night.