Robarts Library was one of many modern concrete institutional buildings constructed in the Brutalist style on university campuses across Canada in the 1960s and 1970s. The scale and rawness of this architectural style was considered controversial even at the time of its design.

By 1965, New York design firm Warner, Burns, Toan and Lunde had been selected to oversee the design of a new library building alongside Toronto-based firm Mathers and Haldenby. Selecting the area bordered by St. George and Harbord Streets for the location of the future library, the Users' Committee chose the now-familiar Brutalist triangle design for the building, with hexagonal wings for the Rare Book Library and School of Library Science.

In the 1990s, factors including the need to make Robarts Library more accessible for all users, increased enrolment, changing student needs, emerging technology, and the toll that time and heavy use had taken on its interiors, prompted the library to adapt and renovate its spaces. However, with budgets limited by provincial government austerity, the administration needed to be creative with how and what kind of renovations they would be able to accomplish.

Out of frustration at the inaction of the University, in 1993 the Students' Administrative Council instituted a levy paid by their members to create an entrance on the first floor of Robarts. This addressed the accessibility challenges that users and staff faced with the staircases leading to the second-floor entrances, which were the only points of entry into the library at the time.

In connection with the entrance change, circulation services were moved from the fourth floor to the first floor of the library, and the Map Library was relocated from the first floor to the fifth floor. Although the opening of the first-floor entrance was a positive move for accessibility, it did create challenges with navigation in the building. The first-floor entrance was obscured by the architecture, leading many users to continue entering the building from the second floor.

By 2011, when the final phase of the renewal was complete, the apexes in the stack floors had been renovated to bring in more light and create additional study spaces. The Map and Data Library had reopened along with an expanded study area and a rearranged space for the government publications collection. Media Commons, housing material related to Canadian and international media on the third floor, had been expanded. The windswept porticos on the second floor had been enclosed, and a new staircase had been added to the entrance of the Fisher Library. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, Robarts Common officially opened in August 2022, adding 1,200 much-needed study spaces. Finally, the renovation of the main reading rooms brought the Robarts revitalization plan to fruition.

After 50 years, Robarts Library had completed its journey from a collection-centred research facility to a user-centred space and is poised to enter its next 50 years ready to adapt to the evolving needs of the U of T community while anticipating new developments in digital research, scholarship, teaching and learning.