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The Library was founded in 1799 through the efforts of Charles Inglis, first Bishop of Nova Scotia and founder of the University.

When King's was established in 1789, the Board of Governors collected funds for a Library, but it was not until a decade later that efforts were made to obtain books. The Board entrusted the money to alumnus John Inglis, son of the Bishop (and later Bishop himself), who sailed to England in 1800 to purchase books. He assembled books worth over £1250 and was promised further gifts once potential donors were satisfied that there was a real connection between the College and the Anglican Church. Through John Inglis' efforts, the nucleus of the collection was accumulated by 1802: books in classics, history, foreign languages, literature, the natural sciences and theology.

While in England, John Inglis also pursued a Royal Charter for King's, which was drafted in May 1802 and arrived in Aug 1802 with news of a grant of £1000 from Parliament. Once the Charter was in force, supporters circulated a printed plea for support of the young University: "The original character of the Institution was preserved by the Charter, which was henceforward to be its fundamental law. The connection with the Church was secured. The Archbishop of Canterbury, through whom all that had been effected in England for its welfare, had been obtained, was made its Patron, with the power of a negative on all Statutes, which may be regarded as the key-stone of the connection between the College and the Church. The Bishop of the Diocese was also appointed Visitor of the College; and it is well known to be the first duty of the Visitor, to take care that the intentions of the Founder are always preserved inviolate."

In Windsor, the early collection was housed in a room on the cast end of the main building, below what is now called North Pole Bay. The first recorded circulation transaction was on 20 Sep 1857. When Convocation Hall was constructed in 1858, the Library and Museum moved to the second floor. When the University moved to Halifax in the 1920s, the Library was installed on the third floor of the main building.

The University's first recorded Librarian was Benjamin Gerrish Grey. The University hired its first professional Librarian, Rebecca Nash, in 1963. Librarians have consisted of either Professors receiving honoraria for additional responsibilities or other staff performing Librarian duties.

Plans for a new Library building evolved during the 1980s, and fund-raising for it became a University bicentennial project, "A Rare Find." The University's first building dedicated solely to the Library and Archives was opened on 14 May 1991.

More information on the history and structure of the University of King's College Library can be found in the finding aid linked below.

The history of the Library's Special Collections dates from the founding of the University, when the Library was referred to as the Library Hall and Museum. The Museum was part of Convocation Hall, built in Windsor around 1865 to house the Library. It consisted of a series of "curiosities" and rare books that were donated to and collected by the College. The design of the new Library, opened in Halifax in 1991, includes both a gallery and Archives.

The position of Registrar was established by The Statutes, Rules and Ordinances of the University of King's College at Windsor in the Province of Nova Scotia, 1803. The other officers of the University were the "Vice-President, or Dean, Bursar, and Proctors." The structure of this element of the University of King’s College administration continued with minor adjustments through to the 1950s.

In 1954, the Board of Governors moved that "a small committee be appointed to review the whole internal administration of the College, and to define the respective duties of the Treasurer, the Bursar, the Registrar, the Dean of Residence, the Dean of Divinity, the Public Relations Officer, and other officers of administration, and to confer with the incoming President at their mutual convenience and to report to the Executive at the earliest possible date. The Report of the Bishop's Committee on Personnel, presented to the Board in Nov 1954, recommended the creation of the position of Vice President and combining the Registrar and Public Relations Officer positions into one role.

In recent decades, the Registrar's role has grown from a part time position held by a professor who also had teaching responsibilities, to a full time Registrar whose office has several staff members and operates on a business model designed to maintain and even increase revenue to the University.

The Office takes care of students' day-to-day requests and assists them throughout their undergraduate years. In addition to recruitment, admissions, registration, academic advising and Encaenia, the Registrar's activities include retention of students; presiding at Matriculation; distributing scholarships and bursaries; calculating grade point averages; determining eligibility for graduation and Encaenia award winners; and issuing transcripts. The Registrar's Office responds to requests for information and assistance from students who present a wide range of questions, problems or concerns; staff are in regular contact with other student service units at King's and Dalhousie to provide individual support, referral and case management.

The Registrar's Office is a student's primary resource for scholarships, bursaries and financial aid. Staff provide individual financial advising and budgeting assistance, offer information about bursaries and temporary loan programs, and assist in resolving problems with student loans.

The University of King's College School of Journalism was established in 1978. In 1974, President Graham Morgan began exploring the possibility of offering journalism classes in a more comprehensive program, and had a feasibility study done by Thomas, Giffen, Seaton Associates, Ltd., to explore the possibility of initiating a journalism program. A survey to determine the degree of interest was conducted in the spring of 1975, and the consultants' report was submitted to the Board of Governors in October. The study determined that the outlook was favourable, so the Board established an advisory council, engaged an academic consultant, and presented a proposal to the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) on 1 Dec 1975, with a suggested date offall 1978 to commence operations. The President invited representatives from the local media and the Board of Governors to join the Advisory Planning Committee. The academic consultant's report was tabled in May 1976.

In 1976, King's applied to the MPHEC to institute degree-granting programs in the field of journalism. The MPHEC granted permission, and King's established two new programs in 1978: the four-year Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) (B.J.H.) degree for students with a high school diploma; and the one-year Bachelor of Journalism (B.J.) for students who already had an undergraduate degree.

The new school of journalism was to be an integral part of King's. Students would be obligated to enrol in the Foundation Year Programme and a French course. The school would be small and have rigorous entrance requirements. It would be housed in Classroom 1 in the basement of the main building. The promise of approximately $2,000 per student from the MPHEC in addition to student fees, the need for only three professors initially, the probability of help from the Government of Canada State Department, the Canada Department of Regional Economic Expansion (DREE) and the Nova Scotia Minister of Education, and increased renovation grants all combined to make the financial commitment less intimidating than the Board of Governors had originally calculated.

The school went through growing pains in its early years; there were issues with the lack of television and radio facilities and instruction, and its first director resigned in June 1979. George Bain, a renowned Canadian journalist, took on the directorship that October, and the school saw significantly increased enrolment. From 1980 to 1984, applications increased, with enrolment remaining at 20 to 30 students in each program, assuring quality of education through low teacher – student ratio. A radio room was installed in 1980-1981, although the School continued to use Dalhousie's facilities for television production. Writing for the School's student publication, The Monitor, and editing it and laying it out for printing became mandatory for fourth-year B.J.H. and one-year B.J. students.

After five years of existence, a review of the School showed generally positive results. Overall, it was perceived that applications were steady or rising, which allowed the School to enroll high caliber students.

In 1984, Walter Stewart, another noted Canadian journalist, became director, while George Bain, the former director, continued to teach at the School. All Directors' Reports to the President up to 1986 reported that a majority of graduates found placements at reputable media outlets. By 1986, the School had established internships with the Toronto Star and the chain of South Shore community newspapers operated by Lighthouse Publishing.

The University of King's College was the first university in Canada to offer a course in online journalism, and has continued as a leader in that field, with one of the few tenure-track faculties in Canada to specialize specifically in online journalism. Professors Tim Currie and Kim Kierans are co-editors (with Paul Benedetti) of Canada's definitive textbook for teaching online journalism, The New Journalist: Roles, Skills and Critical Thinking (Emond Montgomery, 2010).

In 2011, the School became the first university in Atlantic Canada to offer a Master of Journalism program. The M.J. is a "unique, new interdisciplinary program" emphasizing the importance of new technology in modem professional journalism: all graduates will be skilled in delivering multimedia content through websites, social media and mobile devices.30 The program has two streams: Investigative, concerned primarily with research and reporting methods, both traditional and emerging; and New Ventures, which equips students with "skills to develop a new journalism enterprise." The M.J. is a one-year degree (10 months of courses) aimed at students who already have a background in journalism. It offers skills transferable to public relations, marketing and other areas, but is billed as being "of maximal use to those who want to work in the news industry."

Second Bishop of Cariboo.

George Anderson Wells was born in Salmon Cove, Newfoundland in 1877, and educated in Newfoundland, Quebec, and Manitoba. He was private from 1901 to 1902 with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles during the South African War, and in 1910, obtained a B.A. from the University of Manitoba. He was also ordained deacon that year, and was curate of St. Thomas' Church, Winnipeg. He would then be made curator of St. Mar's Church in Minnedosa, Manitoba, which he held from 1910 to 1914. He was ordained priest in 1911. He enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914, serving as Chaplain and Senior Chaplain, earning the Auxiliary Forces Officer's Decoration in 1916, and being appointed by his Gracious Majesty, King George V, Companion of the Most Distinguished Order St. Michael and St. George in 1917. After the war, he became rector of St. Luke's Church in Victoria, British Columbia for a year, then of St. Margaret's Church, Winnipeg, again for a year. In 1921, he became Warden of St. John's College, Winnipeg, and held that position until 1934. From 1923 to 1934, he was honourary clerical secretary of the Provincial Synod of Rupert's Land. In 1924, he received an M.A. from the University of Chicago, in Education and Hellenistic Greek. During this time, he also served as Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Rupert's Land. He was a member of the Council and Board of Studies of the University of Manitoba, and lectured there on Religious Education, as well as Practical Theology at St. John's College. From 1926 to 1934, he was a member of Manitoba's Provincial Board of Education, and was a trustree of the Manitoba Canteen Fund. In 1932, he received an honourary D.D. from St. John's College. He was consecrated Bishop of Cariboo in 1934, and remained in this position until 1941, when he resigned. He was Chaplain of the Fleet, Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, and in 1947, was Assistant Bishop of Toronto. He passed away in 1964.

Fifth Bishop of Newfoundland.

William Charles White was born in Trinity, Newfoundland in 1865. He attended Bishop Feild College in St. John's, Newfoundland, as well as St. Augustine's College in Canterbury. In 1888, he was ordained deacon in St. John's, and became Curate of Bonavista, Newfoundland. He was ordained priest in 1890, and worked as a missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel at Fogo, Newfoundland until 1900. From 1900 to 1908, he was Rector of Heart's Content, then became rector, canon, and sub-dean of Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist, Newfoundland until 1918. It was then that he was consecrated Bishop of Newfoundland, and received an honourary D.D. from the University of King's College, Windsor, Nova Scotia. A year later, he also received an honourary D.C.L. from the University of Bishop's College, Lennoxville, Quebec. He served as Bishop until his resignation in 1942, and passed away a year later in 1943.