It was a who's who of local and state government at the launch, with Port Stephens Mayor Bruce MacKenzie, MP member for Port Stephens Craig Baumann and NSW State Librarian Dr Alex Byrne joining with NSW Minister for the Arts George Souris to cut the ribbon.

Appropriately for a library there was plenty of reading done, with a number of speeches celebrating the jointly-funded state and council project.

The council's community and recreation manager, Steve Bernasconi, called the modern library a "community living room", and it is an idea that carries some weight.

Dr Byrne said: "In more recent years, libraries have taken on an equally important role . . . they now respond to the needs of the community by offering a wider range of community services.

"You're just as likely to see yoga classes, or training sessions for senior citizens, and it's not unusual, it's expected by the community," Dr Byrne said.

"Libraries entice, delight and enrich communities."

Raymond Terrace Library manager Kris Abbott said the new library represented the chance to offer that expanded role for residents.

"I think it's great not just for us [the staff] but mainly for the community, because at the other library [we were] basically at capacity," she said.

"The main thing is we have got so much more usable space for people . . . we've tried to allocate each space so everyone has ownership, so it feels like they belong."

The new library also ends a particularly long personal wait for Ms Abbott, who moved from Queensland to take the job as library manager nine years ago.

"In the interview for the position they sort of said there will be a new library within five years [so] I'm very patient," she laughed.