[1] The Library was officially opened on 5 June 1931 by Sir Joseph A. Byrne, Governor of Kenya.

[2] The building is a neo-classical design featuring granite-clad columns along the façade and a grand white marble trapezoidal stairway leading up to the portico.

The windows are glazed in tall steel casements allowing for ample natural lighting and the doors are made of heavy hardwood panels hung in timber frames, pedimented to the lintels.

[2] The library holds more than 400,000 books including East African newspapers and periodicals dating back to 1901.

[3][4] A documentary following the restoration by Koinange and Wachuka, How to Build a Library premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.