[1][2] At the dawn of the 20th century, the political elite and religious leaders of Montreal recognized the need for creating a new francophone library that would elevate the education level of the population.

[1] While the library was built by Eugene Payette, the Sulpicians hired a professional librarian Aegidius Fauteux, for conserving and developing a collection dedicated for research.

Not only the library offered a variety of books and periodicals but cultural activities and a centre dedicated to pictorial arts under the supervision of Olivier Maurault, priest of Saint-Sulpice.

Its large collection was donated to the newly formed Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec in 1967 and the Ministry of Culture and Communications (Quebec) purchased the building.

In 2005 the Université du Québec à Montréal bought the building, but was forced to sell it back to the ministry of culture due to financial reasons in 2007.