It is the main book depository of Georgia, as well as the most important cultural, educational, scientific, informational and methodological centre.

In 1852 the Library was granted the right to receive two free copies of all publications printed in Caucasus.

The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia building #1 was built as the Bank of Nobility in 1913-16 by architect Anatoly Kalgin and artist Henryk Hryniewski.

In 2000 it was named after Ilia Chavchavadze, the great Georgian literary and public figure, widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Georgia.

In 2015 a video of a security guard named Omar Tsereteli playing the piano piece "Giorni dispari" by Ludovico Einaudi at the building gained international attention.