Dr. Lawrence Reynolds (1889-1961), a native of Ozark, Alabama, formed the library's original collection. In his youth, Reynolds accompanied his father, a blind physician, on house calls, reading to him from various medical writings en route. This experience encouraged an early appreciation for both books and medicine. After receiving his B.S. degree from the University of Alabama in 1912, Reynolds attended medical school at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. In Baltimore, Dr. Reynolds began collecting books important to the history of medicine, a pursuit he continued throughout his life. Dr. Reynolds worked as a radiologist in Detroit, Michigan, until his death in 1961. Motivated by his roots in Alabama, Dr. Reynolds donated his valuable collection of about 5,000 volumes to the University of Alabama School of Medicine on February 2, 1958, and the Reynolds Historical Library officially opened. Since acquiring the collection, the Library has more than quadrupled in size.

On November 14, 2014, it was announced that a gift from Sara J. Finley and Randall W. Finley that honors their father, Dr. Wayne H. Finley, would form an endowment for the continued enhancement and expansion of the medical historical collections. In recognition of this significant gift, and of Dr. Finley's longstanding commitment to medical history at this university, the Reynolds Historical Library is renamed the Reynolds-Finley Historical Library, and the Reynolds Historical Lectureship is renamed the Reynolds-Finley Historical Lectureship. In particular, Dr. Wayne H. Finley, professor emeritus in the Department of Genetics at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, is recognized for his contributions to the growth and development of the library’s collection as well as the lectureship in medical history.