Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown · Public domainSeward’s library logs 36 visits per resident, the sixth-highest of 3,790 U.S. town libraries
Seward Community Library and Museum serves Seward’s 2,582 residents. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 94K visits.
The short version on Seward’s library
More library cards than residents
9,653 cards for 2,582 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
People come to Seward Community Library and Museum a lot
Seward Community Library and Museum logs 36 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 99% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Seward invests in its library
Seward Community Library and Museum spends $294 per resident a year, about seven times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Seward Community Library and Museum logs about 145 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 19 public computers. That’s 20 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Seward’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Seward is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 17 in Alaska. All three inputs put Seward near the top nationally; library visits rank highest.
Seward Community Library and Museum logged 36.2 visits per resident in FY2024, #6 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
51 community nonprofits are registered in Seward
18.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
19.8%
19.8% of Seward’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 14.9% in the typical Alaska town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Seward’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Seward Community Library and Museum serves 2,582 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
40% of borrowing is digital
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
12,919 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
32 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Seward last year.
Find it
Seward Community Library & Museum, 239 6th Avenue, Seward.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Seward? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Seward cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $758K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $647K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $758K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 9,653 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seward | Seward Community Library & Museum fine-free | 12.5 | 45 | A+ |
| Bear Creek | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Seward’s 93,516 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Seward
Does Seward have a public library?
Yes. Seward Community Library and Museum, 239 6th Avenue, serves Seward’s 2,582 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Seward Community Library and Museum fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Seward’s library?
It logged 36.2 visits and lent 12.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Its visits per resident rank #6 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Seward’s civic life grade?
A+ Seward is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 of 17 in Alaska. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Seward.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.