It is located in Panjim (Panaji) and its website claims that it is the first public library to be set up across India, in the early 1830s.

According to its official site, it is "the oldest Public Library in India," having been inaugurated on 15 September 1832 by the Portuguese Viceroy of Goa, Dom Manuel de Portugal e Castro.

The book collections of various convents belonging to these religious orders were transferred to the library, augmenting the repository considerably.

[1] By a decree dated 18 March 1956, the Privilege of Deposited Legal was made applicable to this library, making it entitled to receive, free of cost, copies of all publications from Portugal and her overseas colonies.

[1] In the past, the library's collection consisted mainly of books in Portuguese, French, Spanish, Latin, English.

By Decree Law 38684 of 18 March 1952, the Deposito Legal (Delivery Act) was made applicable to this library, according to its official website.

The Central Library compiles and publishes its annual bibliography of Goa-published books in the Official Gazette of Goa.

Among other valuable texts, the Library holds incomplete collections of nineteenth and early twentieth century newspapers in Marathi, Konkani, English and Portuguese, published from Goa and from Bombay.

About 15,00,000 pages of rare books, official gazettes and newspapers are available in electronic format (microfilm Form).

Officials were quoted saying that plans include "a facility for microfilming and a book preservation laboratory ... (among) the 27 sections that comprise the new centrally air-conditioned state library."

Maria Pia de Menezes Rodrigues[3] says the Central Library offers lending, reading and reference facilities, the first being available only to registered members.

Research facilities are available to scholars from India and abroad, specially those working on topics related to Goa and Indo-Portuguese history.

Home-lending however requires membership of the library, which currently costs between Rs 200 to 750 (lifetime deposit, no annual fee).