Construction began in 1927 with the other original River Campus buildings and the library was dedicated in 1930.

Rush Rhees is the flagship of the River Campus Libraries System, which holds about 3 million volumes.

[1] Rush Rhees Tower stands 186 feet (57 m) high and houses the Hopeman Memorial Carillon, the largest musical instrument in the city and one of only six in New York.

Located on the 4th floor of Rush Rhees is the Rossell Hope Robbins Library, which houses a non-circulating medieval studies collection of more than 20,000 volumes.

In addition to its holdings in all aspects of Middle English Literature, it also contains holdings in Old English, Anglo-Norman, and medieval French literature; medieval history, philosophy, theology, and art; manuscript studies; witchcraft; and Arthurian and Robin Hood studies.