It is owned by the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

Its main building is in Xuhui, with a branch hall in Pudong.

[4] Shanghai Library was originally established in 1952.

[7][3] In November 1958, the Shanghai Institute of Scientific and Technical Information was established.

In October 1995, Shanghai Library merged with the Shanghai Institute of Scientific and Technical Information to become a research-oriented public library and a comprehensive information research center.