IU Indianapolis University Library

The IUPUI University Library groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 1, 1990. After the new library was completed, the University Archives moved from the Joseph T. Taylor Hall (formerly known as the Blake Street Library) to the lower floor of the new building. Ruth Lilly donated $2 million to create a new state-of-the-art facility for the archives and its collection. The archives subsequently became known as the Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives. The Blake Street Library and 38th Street Science and Engineering Library merged into the new University Library to consolidate resources on campus.

The original design of the library was five floors and 256,000 square feet (23,800 m2) with a volume capacity of a million items. There were 1,740 study spaces, two classrooms, a 100-seat auditorium on the lower level, 641 study carrels, an individual learning center on the first floor, 42 group study rooms, 40 faculty study rooms, and two rooms for visually impaired students. The dedication ceremony took place on April 8, 1994. In 1995, IUPUI created the Center for Teaching and Learning inside the University Library. The purpose of the center was to “assist faculty in navigating the World Wide Web”. Since then, the center has collaborated with Academic Affairs, University Information Technology Services, and University Library to advance professional development. The final design consisted of the library administration offices, a faculty development room, and the School of Library and Information Science on the first floor; a circulation desk and periodical department on the second floor; and the Adaptive Learning Center on the third floor.

Phase III of the University Library construction was completed with the dedication of the Wood Plaza. The plaza design included a main fountain shaped like a ziggurat or stepped pyramid of green granite with water flowing from the top of the pyramid, collecting and cascading over five distinct levels. The fountain also has built-in lighting. Two smaller fountains were planned to be built in the brick landing area near the base of the staircase. In addition, the plaza included brick and concrete walkways, landscaped gardens with trees and plantings, seating areas, and lighting around the courtyard for night usage. The plaza was designed by Singh Associates and marked the completion of the landscape work surrounding the University Library. The University Library received an Achievement award during "A Monumental Affair", the 19th Annual Awards for Excellence in Design, Development, Construction and Beautification in Indianapolis. The Achievement Award gives recognition annually to three structures that have "contributed to the quality of life through the enhancement and beautification of Marion County’s visual and physical environment," according to an A1A publication.

Beginning in 2002, University Library and the Herron School of Art partnered together to allow one student from the Herron to display their sculpture in the library atrium. In 2007, the University Library established the Learning Commons and invited the University Writing Center to share the space. At the beginning of the Fall 2009 semester, University Library opened an international newsroom through the Office of Diversity. The newsroom offers satellite international newsfeeds for students to stay connected to global events. Secondly, the library opened a dedicated skype conferencing room on the second floor. Later that year, University Library worked with Conner Prairie to digitize a collection of textiles that were collected by Ruth and Eli Lilly beginning as early as the 1940s. The collection was published online at the end of 2009.

In 2010, a new technology classroom was constructed on the second floor in the Academic Commons area to assist students in information literacy and technology skills. Following this trend, the library opened a new learning lab dedicated to library science education in 2011. In 2012, IUPUI worked with design firms to redesign 2,800 square feet (260 m2) to create more innovative group and individual study spaces. In the spring of 2014, the Center for Digital Scholarship was established out of the growing digital scholarship program at the library. In the fall of 2014, University Library created a physical space for the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. In 2017, University Library underwent its first major renovation of the third and fourth floor to create more space for seating, power outlets, and group study areas. In addition to the fourth floor renovation, the library opened a new Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab. On June 17, 2020, the University Library unveiled its new seed library in partnership with the IUPUI Office of Sustainability that allows users to obtain seeds for free.

Designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and constructed at a cost of $32 million, the IUPUI University Library officially opened in its current location on April 8, 1994. With nearly a million patron visits a year, plus staff and resources that support all of IUPUI's more than 200 degree programs, the IUPUI University Library is a public academic research library.

Serving as a centerpiece for the IUPUI library system, the University Library provides academic and community patrons with wide variety of study and learning spaces. The five-story facility houses hundreds of study carrels, group study rooms, multimedia classrooms, a 100-seat auditorium, and the Academic Commons—a flexible group study area equipped with computer and multimedia technology.