The Matica Srpska Library was situated in Tekelianum, an institution founded by Matica’s president and benefactor Sava Tekelija with the goal to help the education of Serbian students in Pest.

The books sent by the Russian Academy of Sciences were the first exchanged books in the Matica Srpska Library in 1832, and in the same year the books donated by Atanasije Stojković represented the first personal gift received by the Library. Since April 1839, the library has been rapidly building its collection. The first large personal libraries were donated by Platon Atanacković and Sava Tekelija. It was already the largest Serbian library. At that time, books were doanted by many other donors, including: Teodor Pavlović, Dimitrije Tirol, Vuk Karadžić, Petar II Petrović Njegoš, Jovan Subotić, Jan Kolar, and others.

The Library was professionally organized in the period 1842-1843 by writer Jovan Subotić, who on the basis of its books prepared the first Serbian current bibliography and published it in Letopis Matice Srpske. 

Students in Pest sent the first request for the opening of the reading room in 1841, but the reading room was not open then. It was open in January 1846 and it was available to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

During the years 1848, 1849, the Matica Srpska and its Library did not work.

Jovan Đorđević, writer, dramatist, and the Matica Srpska Secretary from 1857 to 1859, was the first to propose the concept of the Matica Srpska Library as a national library. He advocated the collection of all Serbian books and periodicals, Slavic books, as well as all publications that speaking about the Serbian people. At the same time, Đorđević proposed to establish a university library in Tekelianum.

The Matica Srpska and its Library moved to Novi Sad in 1864, where it continued to develop successfully. During that period, the Library constantly increased its collections by purchasing, subscribing and, especially, by exchanging Matica’s editions with the academies of sciences, universities, literary and cultural societies and magazine editors in all Slavic and many European countries, as well as by purchasing or by bequeathing private libraries and libraries of institutions and certain associations.

Historian Jovan Radonić, a librarian from 1899 to 1905, in his book Pravila biblioteke (Library Principles) introduced the concept of the methodical collection building, protection and use of books and periodicals, and gave the basic setting of the catalog. 

Tihomir Ostojić, Matica Srpska Secretary published Apel (An Appeal) where he called writers, publishers, editorial boards and print shops to donate to the Library one copy of their books and thus compensate for the lack of legal deposit.

In the period between the two World Wars, the Library continued its work as a public and scientific library. As a public library, it aspired to make books more accessible to readers, and as a scientific library, it tended to form collections that would be used for research work on the study of the Province of Vojvodina, because it was the Matica Srpska’s policy. The universal content of the collections, the establishment of exchanges with Yugoslav and foreign scientific libraries, and the needs of scientific workers from Novi Sad and other Yugoslav centers encouraged the development of its functions as a general scientific library.

Vasa Stajić, a Secretary of the Education Department of the Matica Srpska, is credited with the opening of the reading room and with establishing a new loan department. During the years 1848, 1849, and 1912, as well as during both World Wars, the Library did not work.

During both World Wars, the Library did not work, so its collections, fortunately, remained almost intact.

After the Second World War, the Library intensified and diversified its activities. In 1948, it became the central (patron) library for the Province of Vojvodina and began to receive legal deposit copies of all publications printed in Serbia. Since 1958, the Library has been an independent institution. From 1965 to the fall of Yugoslavia, it received the Yugoslav legal deposit copies and functioned as one of eight Yugoslav national libraries. Since 2008, it has received and kept legal deposit copies from the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The Library has contributed to the development of scientific work at the University of Novi Sad since its establishment on 1960. According to the provisions of the Law on Library and Information Service from 1994, the National Library of Serbia cooperates with the Matica Srpska Library in the realization of the general interest in the library activity of the Republic.

According to the laws of 2011 in the field of library and information science, the Matica Srpska Library acquired the status of Cultural Institution of National Importance. The Library functions as a parent library for the libraries in Vojvodina and organizes professional library exams for their librarians.

The Matica Srpska Library received the Vuk Award (1966), Milorad Panić Surep Award (1992), the Order of Saint Sava, second class (2019), the Order of Sretenje, first class (2023), and others.

The Matica Srpska Library Day has been celebrated since April 28, 2016.