The brick and concrete building was designed by architect John M. Johansen in the Brutalist style.

[4] On May 19, 1969, United States Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts opened the Goddard Library in which he called for the shifting of resources used in aerospace exploration to "pressing problems here at home".

[2] The Academic Commons at Goddard Library is a study space opened in January 2009 as part of the building's renovations.

[6] The library also houses the ITS Help Desk, which aids the student body, as well as faculty and staff, on the first floor in the Academic Commons.

Outside the library lies a structure depicting the flight path of Goddard's first liquid fuel rocket.