Dunedin's first free public library opened on 2 December 1908, funded by a £10,000 grant from American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

The library received its first major donation in 1913 when Dr Robert McNab presented some 4,200 volumes of New Zealand history and early voyages.

[2] A new library administered by the Mosgiel Borough Council was opened in 1959, relocating twice before arriving at its present site on Hartstonge Ave.

A number of art works have been added to the library collection, including some by Ralph Hotere, David Elliot, Robyn Belton, and Pamela Brown.

The Library moved to Mechanics' Hall in 1875 and from that time a committee of seven was elected annually by the subscribers and the subscription was lowered from one pound to ten shillings.

Unfortunately the building soon began to need frequent maintenance and it was obvious it was not a suitable place for a library which was expanding dramatically now that Waikouaiti was part of Dunedin City.

[3] This collection began with the donation of Robert McNab's personal library in 1913 and includes considerable newspaper and genealogical resources.

This collection contains around 10,000 items dating from the tenth century to the present, covering literature, religion, and the history of the book, and includes nearly 1,300 bibles.

[10] The Reed Collection's illuminated medieval manuscripts are considered one of the most outstanding assemblies of European visual art from the Middle Ages in Australasia.

[citation needed] Reed had a personal fancy for autograph letters, many of which were bought in miscellaneous lots from London-based booksellers including Edward Friehold.

[5][11][12] The collection now boasts 5,200 autograph letters dating predominantly to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by literary, aristocratic, political and religious figures, and has been the subject of international scholarly attention.

[13][14][15][16] Of particular note, 41 previously unpublished letters in the Reed Collection form the core of In Her Hand, a 2013 collection that includes transcriptions, annotations, and discussions of letters by noted Romantic-era writers including Anna Barbauld, Felicia Hemans, Hannah More, Amelia Opie, and Maria Jane Jewsbury.