[2] As the center of Ningbo's public library service system, Ningbo Library not only has paper and electronic books, journals, and newspapers but also has a wide range of collections such as handwritten books, calligraphy, picture albums, photos, music, film, and television materials.

Based on the above-mentioned collection, the library has conducted research on literature resources in Ningbo and surrounding areas.

In 1927, after the victory of the National Revolutionary Army's Northern Expedition, Ningbo was established as a city.

The Ningbo Municipal Library officially opened in September, with Zhang Ruzhao as its first director.

In 1932, due to the narrow building, under the negotiation of the Ningbo Education Association and Ningbo Chamber of Commerce, the library exchanged places with the National Goods Exhibition Hall and moved to Fuxian Street (today's Fuxiao Street).

[11] After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the library moved back to its original location in Zhongshan Park.

The Ministry of Culture and Education of the Military Control Commission took over the Yinxian County Library in June.

[10] In 1953, Ningbo City Library was re-established at the old site of Zhongshan Park, with an area of 660 square meters and a collection of 8946 books.

Most of the books in the collection are from the former Yinxian County Library, which was transferred back to the reading room of the People's Cultural Center.

[18] After the new building was put into use, it assumed the central function of the Ningbo Public Library service system.

After completion, the computer network and other equipment as firefighting and electrical facilities in the building have been upgraded or added successively.

[14] In 2001, the Ningbo Municipal Government invested over 20 million yuan to further expand the library on a large scale.

[19] In the international invitation competition for the conceptual design of the new building of Ningbo Library held that year, the Shanghai office of SHL Architects in Denmark won the top spot among the plans of four Chinese companies and two foreign companies.

The new pavilion widely adopts green building technologies, including passive energy conservation through measures and technologies such as using natural light to help improve indoor lighting, using an atrium structure to achieve excellent natural ventilation, and using Béton brut materials to help maintain the building's temperature in summer and winter.

On the second floor, there is an ancient book reading room, a professional ancient book restoration area, a constant temperature and humidity dense stack room, an exhibition hall, and two leisure terraces set up for the east and west.

Qiao Shi's study room is located on the fourth floor of the new library, containing over 26000 books of various types, over 300 audiovisual documents, over 100 calligraphy and painting works, and over 20000 photo materials.

[18] As of the end of 2020, Ningbo Library had a total of 164 librarians (including 81 professional and technical personnel).

[29] The Yongfeng building and the new building each have a readers' service desk that provides readers with basic services such as library card processing and consultation, as well as the Tianyi Music Hall for the appreciation and exchange of music and film materials.

The two special study rooms are the Friendship City Study Room, which collects books, paintings, drawings, and other related documents gifted from Ningbo's friendly cities, and the Qiao Shi Study Room, which collects books, handwritten notes, paintings, photographs, and relics from the private collection of Qiao Shi, the former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Unlike the Yongfeng building, the new building has a self-service library that provides self-service lending services, a visually impaired reading room that provides braille reading services, and a total of 4 study rooms for reservation.

The digital library service was launched on January 18, 2008, achieving the sharing of literature resources among various co-construction units.

[40] IP addresses within Ningbo City can access various Chinese and foreign literature in the digital library.

The publication was launched in August 2019 and its main content is to explore, present, organize, and study literature resources in Ningbo and surrounding areas.

[49] The former is a book information and book review publication, while the latter is a political abstract specifically for reference by leaders and cadres at all levels, representatives of the National People's Congress, and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Ningbo.