[2] The Portuguese government had announced two years earlier that it wished to establish a library facility in Macau.

[3] The Cultural Affairs Bureau stated that initially "the Library existed in name only and was often relocated" since there were scant resources;[3] in 1917 the library was transferred to the St. Joseph's Seminary, and it subsequently moved to the Hotel Bela Vista and the Shelter for the Disabled at Tap Seac.

[8][9] Instead, the site of the new central library is planned to be the former Hotel Estoril at Tap Seac Square.

[11] The 1,371-square-metre (14,760 sq ft), two storey facility is located on Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida.

[2] A new eleven storey central library was scheduled to be built on the block at the intersection of Avenida da Praia Grande and Rua Central, which would replace the former Judicial Police head office and hang over the existing 1951 courthouse, which was to be preserved.