[1] The building was constructed in the 1930s, named after John William Jagger, a major benefactor of the University of Cape Town Libraries.

It then contained 518,000 of the 741,000 volumes available in the library network, and could house 1280 readers in its reading rooms.

[2] In 2011, the university began a project aimed at restoring the Jagger Library to its original condition.

The walkways and balconies installed in the 1960s and 1970s were removed, and it was subsequently painted, refurnished, and had its original elements restored, becoming once again the main library of the University of Cape Town.

[3] However, the library's fire detection systems stopped the destruction of the entire collection.