In 1921, Shanghai College of Commerce—the predecessor of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE)—established its library on the third floor of Shangxian Hall on Avenue Joffre (today’s Huaihai Road), marking the origin of the SUFE Library. Today, the main library stands on Wuchuan Road in Yangpu District, with branches on North Zhongshan No. 1 Road in Hongkou District and at the Dishui Lake Advanced Institute of Finance in Pudong New Area.

Over a century, the SUFE library has built a world-class collection of information resources.By the end of 2024, holdings exceed 20 million items in all formats: 2.38 million print books, 15.56 million e-books and dissertations, 120,000 bound print journal volumes, 2.3 million e-journal volumes, 52,000 SUFE doctoral and master’s theses, and 131 databases. In addition, the SUFE Library’s Academic Data Repository, Academic Information Platform, and Reading Promotion Platform provide users with diverse scholarly information services.

The main library covers more than 30,000 m², comprising a seven-storey main building and a five-storey annex with over 3,000 seats, and opens all year round. Beyond the reading and studying area, the SUFE library hosts an academic exchange and exhibition space that features the “The Village Survey Program Exhibition”, “The Enterprise Survey Program Exhibition”, curated shelves of scholarly masterpieces and works by noted educators, the financial-data analysis room, and the rare-collections exhibition area. The Students Academic Commons includes the SUFE history and spirit, wall of academic star, bondless learning space, lecture hall, silent pods other settings for academic communication.

Since the early 1980s, the SUFE Library has served as the depository library for publications issued by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. As the public academic business library, it is the only mainland-Chinese member of the Asia-Pacific Business School Librarians Group (APBSLG). The Library continually sends librarians to partner institutions—such as the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of Montana, the University of Illinois, West Virginia University, Queen’s University, Erasmus University, Singapore Management University, and City University of Hong Kong—for exchanges and conferences. Since 2010, it has hosted the “Global Perspectives: University Library Directors’ Forum” every four years, fostering international cooperation.

Based on Rules and Regulation on Libraries in Institutions of Higher Education issued by the Ministry of Education, the library is the center of university for documentary and information resources as well as the academic institution for supporting talent cultivation and scientific research. In accordance with the regulation, the university has established the Library Working Committee for advisory and coordinating the library-related work. The SUFE library comprises Collection and Acquisition Development Department, Special Collections Department, Information Technology Department, Administration Department, Subject Services Department, Learning Support Department, Reading Promotion Department, Space Services Department, to provide users with qualified services and learning support. Guided by the philosophy of “users first, ever-improving, ever-excelling”, the SUFE library is striving to build the intelligent future learning center with finance and economics features, enhancing academic support and subject services, thereby propelling the university toward global excellence with distinctive financial and economic strengths.