The library's exterior façade that faces the university's football stadium includes a large, 134-foot (41 m) by 68-foot (21 m) mural called Word of Life, or more commonly known as Touchdown Jesus.

As of 2009, the library ranked as the 61st largest collection among research universities in the United States, with an estimated 3.39 million volumes.

After the death of Edwards, Paul Foik, came to Notre Dame in 1912, and took over his positions; he pushed for the construction of a library building.

[6] As president of the university, Father Theodore Hesburgh was focused on raising the academic profile of the institution, which so far had been heavily reliant mostly on its athletic fame.

The Hesburgh administration launched a series of grand fundraising campaigns, the first of which was the 1958 "Program for the Future", aimed to raise $66.6 million over ten years.

[7] In 1959, Father Theodore Hesburgh announced plans for construction of a new library, which he believed to be the necessary next step towards greater academic achievement.

Eventually, the unfeasibility of these designs and the opposition of alumni to the destruction of the golden dome and main building forced the administration to look for a different location.

Eventually, in June 1960, it was decided to place it on the eastern edge of campus, with the understanding that this was the direction that the university was expanding in.

The interior of 429,780 square feet (39,928 m2) has two lower floors that serve as a base for a narrower and nearly windowless 13-story tower capped with a smaller penthouse.

Interior floors have few walls and are supported by bare columns to create a flexible space to arrange stacks of books.