It is situated on 17 acres of land located next to the Arkansas River and Interstate 30 and was designed by architectural firm Polshek Partnership, LLP with exhibition design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates. The main building cantilevers over the Arkansas River, echoing Clinton's campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century". With a 68,698-square-foot floor plan, the library itself is the largest presidential library in terms of physical area, although the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has the greatest space overall, due to its addition of the 90,000 square feet Air Force One Pavilion in 2005. The archives are the largest as well, containing 2 million photographs, 80 million pages of documents, 21 million e-mail messages, and 79,000 artifacts from the Clinton presidency. The Clinton Library is also the most expensive, with all funding coming from 112,000 private donations. The museum showcases artifacts from Clinton's two terms as president and includes full-scale replicas of the Clinton-era Oval Office and Cabinet Room.

The Clinton Presidential Center was dedicated on November 18, 2004. Although it was raining, the ceremony was attended by approximately 30,000 people (including notable figures such as Willie Mays, Robin Williams, and Barbra Streisand) and included a 20-minute speech made by Clinton, who had recently undergone bypass surgery. Four U.S. presidents (Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush were present; former president Gerald R. Ford could not attend due to health concerns) were on the same stage together. All three other presidents spoke at the event as well. Overall, the ceremony lasted two hours and featured six speakers.