The Carmelite General Library (BiGOC) was established in the early 1900s with the founding of the then International College of St. Albert, intended to accommodate friars in formation from various parts of the Carmelite Order. It collected part of the library material from the Studium Generale of Santa Maria in Traspontina, built in the 16th century.

Alongside the "General Section," which contained books primarily pertaining to philosophy and various branches of theology, the "Carmelite Section" was created in 1948 with the aim of collecting publications by members of the Carmelite Order and covering everything related to the Order itself. This section was entrusted to the Institutum Carmelitanum in 1972. The General Archives were also entrusted to it.

Until December 2021, the General and Carmelite sections were managed independently by two different librarians and with different catalogs. Since then, however, the two sections, while remaining distinct, have been merged by the General Council of the Order into a single entity, the Carmelite General Library, under the responsibility of a single librarian.