The ICC Library was founded soon after the inauguration of the International Cultural Centre in 1991.

It is a specialist library holding items connected with culture: dictionaries, encyclopaedias, monographs, art periodicals and exhibition catalogues; publications devoted to urban planning, architecture and heritage management; items on the art, ethnography and traditions of various areas of Europe, and on historical regions of Europe (e.g. Central European Galicia); literature on protection of ethnic minorities and transcultural dialogue, as well as foreign publications on Poland and Central Europe. 

The vast majority of all its materials were acquired as donations or by way of exchange. Gifts are donated by organisations and participants in projects organised by the ICC both within Poland and abroad. The Library also has materials obtained through exchanging its own publications for those of museums and academic institutions in Poland and abroad; in this way we have acquired very many rare specialist publications, often as the only institution in Poland.

At the end of 1999 the Library's stocks were augmented by more than 5,000 volumes constituting the entire collection (including the card catalogue) purchased from a company in liquidation, Pracownie Konserwacji Zabytków. In the summer of 2002 the ICC came into possession of the unique specialist library of the late art historian, Dr Marian Kornecki. Since then, library collection was enlarged by books belonging to other art historians.

Currently, the Library possesses parts of following book collections:

• Pracownia Konserwacji Zabytków - 5040 vol.
• Dr Marian Kornecki - 1682 vol.
• Prof. Jacek Wożniakowski - 784 vol.
• Prof. Lech Kalinowski - 632 vol.
• Prof. Jan Samek - 94 vol.

 
Since 2007 it has been possible to use the following online databases in the Reading Room:  Humanities E-Book, JSTOR, Central and Eastern European Online Library, as well as other bases on CD-ROMs: Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon Internationale Künstlerdatenbank, Belser Lexikon der Kunst- und Stilgeschichte and Encyclopaedia Britannica 2007.

On completion of refurbishments at the ICC's headquarters the Library and reading room found a new home in freshly furnished quarters with modern facilities and a view of Krakow's Main Square to boot. 

In April 2009 the 2nd stage of the Ravens House upgrading project has been completed and new bigger space was created for the Library. It is especially unusual thanks to its location in a bay window over the new patio with a view on exhibition and conference area. 

Thanks to a grant, which ICC Library has received from Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and Goethe Institut Krakau, as a part of "Counterparts" programme, the modern design can go hand in hand with modern fittings of the Library and Reading Room. Also purchasing specialist publications  as well as further subscription of online databases became possible. Roland Berger Reading Room is now a place to 12 multimedia workstations.

See the details 

The need to keep professional records of its stock prompted the ICC Library to join the group of libraries implementing and using the VTLS system (the most common system in use in Krakow''s academic libraries). The process of cataloguing the Library's stock under this system got under way at the beginning of July 2002. The National Universal Central Catalogue (NUKat), created by Polish libraries using the integrated systems Aleph, Horizon, Prolib and VTLS, was launched almost simultaneously. At the end of July 2002 the ICC Library became the 28th library to join the NUKat project and is involved in its ongoing development, including the creation of a Central Database (the Common Authority Files, CKHW).

At the end of 2011 the Library's stock numbered 26 117 registered items.

There is an online catalogue available from the website: www.katalog.mck.kzb.krakow.pl