With the opening of the College of Education and Liberal Arts in 1947, the College Library began operation in a room of modest size on the first floor of the college building.  The library, however, became bigger in 1959 when the College department was transferred to the back of the cathedral. The librarian in charge then was a certain Sister Ma. Geraldine, OSF. The college library was housed in its eastern wing on the second floor. In 1960, the College employed its first professionally trained librarian, Miss Dolores Cabel, and three years later, Miss Alicia L. Genato joined the Library staff. Library operations and procedures were improved: specific sections started to be defined. 

When the College opened its Graduate School in 1962, a Graduate School Section was created in the College Library. In 1965, Mrs. Alicia G. Natino assumed the position of Chief Librarian when Miss Cabel left for further studies. In the same year, Miss Natividad Arcega was taken as Assistant Librarian. With the acquisition of the updated library tools and other library supplies, records, and forms, the library processes such as cataloging, classification, shelf listing, accessioning, mechanical processes, circulation, and reference services were improved. The increasing volume of library work resulting from the growing collection and college population necessitated the employment of a bigger library staff. Student librarians started to be employed.

When Fr. John Van Bauwel, CICM, was appointed as College President in 1967, his first move was the updating of library books and periodicals in line with the College’s curricular programs. The President assumed the Director of Libraries role but maintained the Chief Librarian position. When the College Department was transferred to the new campus site in the S.Y. 1969-1970, the college library occupied the first floor of the western wing of the Godfrey Lambrecht Hall. The College Library, with the three other departmental libraries (High School Library, Elementary Central Library, and Grade School Training Department Library), became centralized as the College Library Staff did technical and mechanical works for the departmental libraries. Appropriate changes and different innovations took place.

The construction of a modern library building called the JUBILEE LIBRARY BUILDING, which embodies SMU’s “75 years of educating the youth,” provides a variety of collections to support the curriculum. The blessing and inauguration of the New Jubilee Library Building was one of the highlights of the Diamond Jubilee year. It was inaugurated and blessed last December 5-8, 2003. Placing the Educational Media Center under the library for the proper organization of materials and services was a welcome addition to the library services.

The high school library is housed in a new Florentina Building. The High School library, with its modern equipment, fixtures, facilities, and signage, was blessed on the 31st day of March 2006. With the new building, the open shelf system was also started. Donations, particularly books, were numerous for this school year. A new library extension was constructed in August 2007, in which a new section was added called Rita’s Reading Corner.

In January 2012, the SMU Library was renamed to Saint Mary’s University Learning Resource Center (SMU LRC) System comprising the libraries in all levels. Thus, the three levels were also renamed as University Learning Resource Center (ULRC) for the University Library, High School Learning Resource Center (HS LRC) for the High School Library, and Grade School Learning Resource Center (GS LRC) for the Grade School Library. In September 2015, the Grade School Learning Resource Center was transferred to the second floor of the Saint Louis Gonzaga Building.

With the phasing out of the Athena Integrated Library System in the market, the ULRC implemented the OPAC and Web-OPAC, cataloging and circulation modules using the Koha Integrated Library System in June. However, the CICM consortium paved the way to the acquisition of Destiny Library Management System in preparation for the merging and providing CICM academic library’s bibliographic records in one site. Thus, on March 13-17, 2017, the ULRC Librarians had the Destiny Library Start-Up Training.

In SY 2016-2017, the Senior High School was introduced through the K to 12 reforms, and with this, Saint Mary’s University Senior High School welcomed its first batch of students. Along with this, is the need to establish a Senior High School Library intended to cater to the information needs of the Senior HS students, faculty, and staff. The Senior High School Library began operation in June 2017. The Senior HS Library is housed at the College Library since the Senior HS Department is located at the College campus. The Senior HS Library started with a minimal initial collection of 3 books only. These books were then filed in one of the shelves in the Science/Math Section, at the mezzanine of the Main Library, under the supervision of Mrs. Marivic S. Balot, the Librarian In-charge of the said section at that time. When the collection started to grow more significant in terms of titles and volumes, it was relocated to the Main Library first floor, its current location. The pioneer official Senior High School Librarian was Miss Rosielyn Austria who took charge of the Senior HS Library from June 2017 to June 2019. After two years, Miss Ana Marie Fernandez succeeded Miss Austria and became the Senior HS Librarian from July 2019-December 2019. In January 2020, Mr. Rico B. Orenia assumed the position and became the current Senior High School Librarian. Since the establishment of the Senior HS Library, orientations have been offered at the start of the SY to keep students well-informed about the resources offered.