Since 1860s onwards Sri Lanka witnessed the emergence of institutions such as the Ceylon Medical College (1869), Buddhist Monastic Colleges of higher learning, leading among them the Vidyodaya (1870) and Vidyalankara (1875) pirivenas, the Law College (1893) as new institutions of tertiary education. In 1942 the University of Ceylon was established by amalgamating the Ceylon University College and the Ceylon Medical College with 55 academic staff members, 904 students in four Faculties and the library “the heart of the University” with 30,000 volumes.
The Library of present University of Peradeniya originated in 1921 as the library of the Ceylon University College and it is noteworthy that it carries longer historical roots than the university. The valuable and extensive collection on history, literature and oriental studies of late Arunachalam Padmanabha donated by his father Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was the first donation the University College Library accessioned. The inaugural accession number 1 was given to Vol. 1 of the 11th edition of Encyclopaedia Britanica.
From 30,000 in 1942 the Library Collection has grown into 648,492 volumes by May 2011 following the modest beginning of university education in Sri Lanka to the phenomenal expansion during the past six decades.
Since 1921 mainly due to legislation in the Higher Education sector the Library had to change its “identity” as follows:
| Library Ceylon University College | 1921 to 1942 |
| Library University of Ceylon | 1942 to 1952 |
| Library University of Ceylon, Peradeniya | 1952 to 1972 |
| Library Peradeniya Campus, University of Sri Lanka | 1972 to 1978 |
| Library University of Peradeniya | Since 1979 |
Late Mr. H.A.I. Goonetileke the fourth in the generation of Librarians created history by holding three different designations,