The library's holdings can be searched online via the City of Cape Town's Open Public Access Catalogue (OPAC).

[3] To allow commuters to access resources, the library is open on Monday and Thursday evenings.

The library opened on 1 April 1954 in an old municipal building and was run for the next 36 years by Ethel May Gillard.

On Friday mornings, the library operates a Story Hour for small children.

[6] As part of the Smartcape initiative[7] for poor residents of Cape Town, the library also offers free access to 10 computers, which can be used to edit documents, create presentations and access the internet.