The library has been undergoing renovations since September last year and finished just in time for the building's 40th milestone.

Kempsey's librarian Louise Milne said the refurbished building offers a lot of new value to the community.

"I think the renovations are fantastic," she said. "Everything is so much lighter and brighter now, and we've had additional things added, which is wonderful.

"The lucky thing is we also haven't lost space... we've actually managed to optimise the space we already had to better reflect the community's needs and wants.

"It adds so much value to the service we provide for the community. We have new study rooms, a new outdoor space and a dedicated children's area which has so many books that are easily accessible to them...things like that really make a difference.

"If people need to read, study or learn about history... they know they can come here and we have to the space to accommodate them."

The renovations came after Kempsey Shire Council received a Public Library Infrastructure grant from the NSW government to refurbish Kempsey Library.

Kempsey Shire Council manager community partnerships Lyndal Harper said the renovations are a way to give back to the community.

"We chose today as the official recognition of the renovations because it coincides with 40 years since the building has been our library," she said.

"Libraries are one of the only remaining free spaces where people can gather, so we've tried to create different spaces for different age groups to really give something back to the community, particularly young people in this community.

"We had a consultant work with us to figure out how we can get the best use of the building's layout, so the community can come here to use the facilities as they need to and not disturb others in the library."

Ms Harper said the new gaming area, bookable meeting rooms and dedicated children's area are some of the highlights in the renovated building.

"One of the big ticket items is the bookable meeting rooms. The new rooms accommodate larger groups who want to come and study in a quiet space... and it's open to other groups in the community too.

"It also has after hours access, where the room can be closed off from the library and people can go through the external door near the front entrance.

"We also turned the building's offices and storage space into a dedicated children's space, which is called our Tree House, and that's a great place for parents to come and read to their kids.

"Children make a lot of noise and you want to have story time with them, so the new arrangement means that can happen here and it's not disturbing anyone."

The council has many events planned for this evening in celebration of the library's 40^th birthday and new look, including entertainment, a back to the '80s disco, food, kids activities and the unveiling of the new tree house name.

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