[3] It is governed by the twelve-member Maryland State Library Board.

[4] They administer state and federal funds supporting Maryland's twenty-four public library systems.

[3][5] The organization oversees the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, the state's public libraries, the State Library Network (including the Maryland State Library Resource Center), the Library Capital Grants Programs, and the Deaf Culture Digital Library.

[3][6] The State Library originally existed as the Office of Public Libraries under the State Board of Education starting in 1935, though the State Library Commission which oversaw public libraries was established in Maryland by statute in 1902.

[7][3] MSL became an independent agency within the State of Maryland, merging the Department of Education's Division of Library Development & Services, with their Public Libraries & State Networking Branch in 2017.