Hundreds gathered last week to officially open the Bronx’ breathtaking new central library. The unveiling of the $50 million project was a shot in the arm for a borough that too often gets the short end of the stick.

“We are inaugurating one of the single most important and beautiful libraries in North America,” said Paul LeClerc, president of the New York Public Library (NYPL), to a standing-room only crowd of officials, librarians and residents.

The opening of the Bronx Library Center comes after almost 20 years of planning and fund-raising for the new site, located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. Its inauguration party brimmed with borough pride — from an old-school doo-wop group to the next generation of talent from PS 246 — along with evocations of Martin Luther King.

“He had a dream, and so did the New York Public Library,” said Joe Ithier, a state official who was closely involved with the project.

Talk of building a new library center began under former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer. Con Edison closed its Kingsbridge Road site in 1999 and Ithier, who then worked for them, donated some of the company’s computers to the Fordham Road Library. He was struck by the needs of the cramped, old-fashioned facility, which was the Bronx’ library hub, in the face of a population boom. The NYPL officially acquired the site in 2001.

Money trickled in to the project, with the state legislature and former mayor Rudolph Giuliani allocating funds in the late ‘90s. Fund-raising had picked up in earnest by 2000. Contributions from state, city and borough officials, along with private philanthropists, finally reached $50 million around two years ago.

“This belongs to all the many people who worked on this for many years,” said Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión.

The result of all that effort is spectacular. Employing a striking modern design, the library’s entrance is graced with an undulating overhang and a glass exterior that floods the 78,000-square-foot space with light. The building, designed by an award-winning architectural firm from Manhattan, also utilizes environmentally friendly construction techniques.

“It sets a new standard for sustainable design in this city,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the event.

The five floors are filled with resources and spaces tailored to borough needs. On the fourth floor, a Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center houses 20,000 bilingual periodicals and a database searchable in Spanish. There are many features for young people, ranging from an enclosed toddler space to a teen lounge with ambient music and a graphic novel collection.

“We want to grab their attention [beyond] just using the computers,” said Salvia Willis, a library center employee specializing in young adults.

But for those who want to surf the web, 127 desktops will be at their disposable along with 30 laptops available behind the counter. For those who don’t know how, the library offers popular computer and ESL classes that will now be expanded. Extensive adult literacy classes are available in the Center for Reading and Writing, which is the largest of its kind in the Bronx.

Featuring materials in Cambodian and Vietnamese, among other languages, the library caters to the borough’s diversity. “[The Bronx] is more than a melting pot. It’s a cultural feast,” said Catherine Marron, who chairs NYPL’s board.

Many speakers spoke of libraries’ potential to open new doors for patrons. “It was a place where no one asked if you were rich or poor,” said Susan Kent, director of the city’s branch libraries, about coming to the Fordham library as a child.

The facility, which is wedged between the bustle of Fordham Road and six-story apartment buildings that dominate the borough, also paints a new landscape. “It’s a lift,” said Greg Faulkner, chair of Community Board 7. “People have something to be enthusiastic about when they see an investment like this.”

Local residents are already taking advantage of the facility, with DVDs flying off the racks and a woman carrying out an “Idiot’s Guide to Inglés” book last week. Pedro Baez, a 20-year-old Decatur Avenue resident, got research tips from library staff. Maria Rios is excited to embark on an investigation of her own.

“I’m interested in doing research about my father who was a Bronx composer,” said Rios, 32, a 193rd Street resident.

The celebration continued last weekend with dozens of free events, including Mariachi music, ice sculpting, stilt walking, and Latin American storytelling. The library’s 150-seat auditorium will hold ongoing concerts and lectures.

Library staff, who worked hard on readying the space and its selections, couldn’t contain their enthusiasm. “I’m so proud,” said Donna Benjamin, who has worked at the Fordham Library for the past decade. “For our county, it’s the best thing we could get.”