The Library was founded in 1855. It was named Biblioteca Comunale Paravia (Communal Library Paravia) in honour of its first donator and founder Pietro Alessandro Paravia (1797–1857), of Zadar by birth and a university professor in Turin.The rich history of Zadar as a political and cultural, centennial centre of Dalmatia is also evident in rich documentation and bibliographical heritage kept in the Research Library of Zadar and the State Archives in Zadar – library and archival holdings and collections of books, manuscripts, journals, parchments, photographs, maps, newspapers, etc.  State Archive today is growing into a modern institution with around six hundred archival funds and collections totaling seven thousand metres of archival material, while the archival library fund contains over fifty thousand books, manuscripts, magazines and newspapers. The systematic and organised preservation of documents in one place begins in the 17th century.