According to the will of Gazi Husrev-bey from 1537 (26. rajab 943) this library was established as a special cultural and research institution for the fields of Islamic sciences, Islamic cultural heritage and other similar scientific disciplines. The date of the will is taken as a founding year of the library.

It was part of Kurshumli Madresa until a special area was built for it in Bey’s Mosque in 1863.

As the library’s collection continued to grow, it was later moved to a building next to the Emperor’s Mosque in 1935, which was in use until the war started in 1992.

After the war, the library was moved to a building next to the girls’ quarters of Gazi Husrev Bey’s Madresa in Drvenija and then, in 2013, it was moved to a specially designed facility in the heart of Baščaršija.

The library’s collection includes approximately 100,000 manuscripts, books, journals and various documents written in Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, Bosnian and other European languages.

The library also has a museum with more than 1,200 items on display, all of which testify to the rich cultural and religious traditions of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.