The exhibition is organized into five sections corresponding to the evolution and changes of the library as its architecture was influenced by the intellectual and cultural criteria of each historical period. Visitors will thus be able to see versions of the library in the Greek world, the Roman era, the Byzantine Empire, Western Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Each section is documented through texts, architectural plans, maps, photographic material and original engravings from the 15th century and later. The exhibition also includes models of the School of Aristotle, the Lyceum and Plato's Academy and reconstruction drawings of the monumental libraries of the Roman era, such as the libraries of Octavia and emperors Trajan and Hadrian.

In addition visitors will be able to see depictions of the monastic libraries, as they evolved since Christianity was adopted as state religion in the Eastern and the Western Roman Empire. Finally, the exhibition highlights library architecture in the Italian Renaissance (mid-15th century), with special emphasis on the logic behind the design and arrangement of the Vatican Library, the Marcian Library in Venice, the library of Malatesta in Cesena and the Laurentian library of Florence, created by Michelangelo Buonarroti.