Housed in a handsome colonial building, most of the library's collection was destroyed when the Khmer Rouge ransacked the building and turned it into a stable and piggery. In fact, many of the old and weathered books on its shelves today were donated by citizens after the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

There are currently about 120,000 mostly in French, English and Khmer. There are also old magazines, sastra (palm leaf manuscripts), legal documents and copies of administrative decrees.

Only a portion of the collection is stored on the library's dusty shelves. Some sections are closed to the public but accessible to accredited researchers.

The materials cannot be checked out. Select a book or magazine and take it to one of the library's reading tables.