The Billie Jean King Main Library is positioned at the northeast corner of the city's new Civic Center. Adjacent to the historic Lincoln Park, the library connects the city’s past and present while providing valuable municipal and community services.

The building provides a welcoming and flexible environment, with interior space organized into discrete and identifiable areas that maximize the use of square footage and enhance user accessibility and staff efficiency. The library offers a variety of spaces to serve the diverse population of Long Beach, including group study rooms, independent study areas, and a technology-driven "makerspace" that features a learning lab and 3D printers. Additionally, an independently operated community center with meeting rooms and programs is available for public use.

A large central atrium provides abundant natural light throughout the library's interiors. Targeting LEED® Platinum certification, the building utilizes timber construction and features rooftop photovoltaic cells, daylighting strategies, controlled air ventilation systems, and extensive glazing with architectural overhangs for solar protection.

The 93,500-square-foot library is part of the Long Beach Civic Center Master Plan, along with a new City Hall and Port of Long Beach Headquarters. SOM designed the master plan to revitalize 22 acres of downtown Long Beach by creating a vibrant, mixed-use district and reactivating Lincoln Park.