The ICE library was founded in 1819 when the first periodicals were purchased and books presented. In 1820 the Institution's first president, Thomas Telford, presented part of his personal library. Over the next decade the library grew slowly. Some textbooks were added, but the collection comprised chiefly drawings and manuscripts. Thomas Telford added to the collection in 1834, when he donated all of his papers to the Institution.

Today, the ICE library is the largest civil engineering library in the UK, and amongst the largest in the world. It holds over 100,000 titles - all searchable in the online catalogue. It offers unrivalled international coverage of structures, geotechnics, engineering materials, water and wastewater systems, sustainability and waste management, transport in all modes-pedestrian, road, rail air and water, as well as management, health and safety and contracts. An ambitious digitisation process has made much of the library's contents available in electronic format. See Online services for more information.