Seward Community Library & Museum
🏢 City of Seward · Seward, Alaska
Seward Community Library & Museum
A striking waterfront landmark clad in iridescent stainless-steel tiles, the Seward Community Library & Museum fuses a full public library with a ground-floor history museum where the 1964 Good Friday earthquake — the most powerful ever recorded in North America — is told through artifacts, archives, and daily documentary screenings.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 9am–6pm |
| Wednesday | 9am–6pm |
| Thursday | 9am–6pm |
| Friday | 9am–6pm |
| Saturday | 9am–5pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 239 6th Avenue, Seward, AK 99664
Phone: (907) 224-4082
Website: cityofseward.us
Plus Code: 93GG4H36+2W (Seward, AK)
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📖 About Seward Community Library & Museum
The Seward Community Library & Museum is a 24,300-square-foot facility that opened January 12, 2013, combining a public library, local history museum, archives, and community center under one roof. Designed by ECI Alaska Architecture and clad in iridescent stainless-steel tiles that shift between blues, greens, and purples in changing light, the building overlooks Resurrection Bay and earned an IES Illumination National Award of Merit for its lighting design. The first-floor museum is curated in partnership with the Resurrection Bay Historical Society and documents Seward history from its first Native inhabitants through the devastating 1964 Good Friday earthquake and tsunami — which collapsed the waterfront into the bay and nearly erased the town — and on to modern times. The second-floor library offers sweeping mountain and bay views through large windows, along with books, free Wi-Fi, public computers, and a full range of community services. The Seward Community Library Association, incorporated in 1930, supports the facility and has awarded the Swetmann Scholarship — named for library co-founder Viola Swetmann and running since 1978 — making it among Alaska's oldest continuously running scholarship programs.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Two-in-one facility: public library on the second floor and Resurrection Bay Historical Society museum on the first floor, all in one 24,300 sq ft building opened January 2013
- Daily 2 p.m. summer screenings of 'Waves Over Seward: The 1964 Alaska Earthquake' in the community room — a documentary told through survivors' memories
- Second-floor reading room with panoramic windows facing Resurrection Bay and surrounding mountain ranges
- Member of the Alaska Library Catalog, a statewide consortium of 87 libraries with 3.2 million titles, enabling interlibrary borrowing across Alaska
- Swetmann Scholarship (running since 1978): annual awards for Seward-area students who hold a library card and submit an original creative project — one of Alaska's oldest continuously running scholarship programs
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Seward Community Library cardholders can stream, borrow, and research free through Alaska's statewide collections:
📚 Services
- Free Wi-Fi (24/7) and public-access computers
- Checkout of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and music
- Interlibrary loan via the Alaska Library Catalog (87-library statewide consortium)
- Passport acceptance agency (by appointment, limited availability)
- Notary public services
- Fax service (incoming and outgoing)
- Black-and-white photocopying ($0.25 per page)
- AV equipment lending
- Community room (first floor) and conference room (second floor) for meetings
- Free library cards for Seward, Moose Pass, and Cooper Landing residents
🎸 Programs
- Story Time (Fridays) — free preschool early-literacy program
- Play & Chat (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 AM–11:30 AM) — children play in the Community Room with toys and peers
- Summer Reading Program (early June–early August) — activities, events, and prizes for preschool through high school
- Swetmann Scholarship — annual $1,500 award for Seward-area students ages 16–21 with a library card; creative project required
- Daily summer film screenings at 2 p.m. — 'Waves Over Seward' (1964 earthquake documentary); $5 admission, free age 12 and under
- Homeschool Book Discussion
- Read, Reuse, Recycle — annual April used book sale; includes 'Books for the Bush' sending children's books to Alaska villages
📍 Nearby Libraries on the Kenai Peninsula
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Seward in 1964, and how does the museum tell that story?
On Good Friday 1964, a magnitude-9.2 earthquake — the most powerful ever recorded in North America — triggered a tsunami that collapsed Seward's waterfront into Resurrection Bay, ignited fuel tanks, and destroyed much of the town. The first-floor museum, curated by the Resurrection Bay Historical Society, presents photographs, artifacts, and archival documents tracing that disaster and its aftermath. Every summer afternoon at 2 p.m., the documentary 'Waves Over Seward' is screened in the community room, told through survivors' own voices. Museum admission is $5 (free for ages 12 and under) in summer; free October through April.
Why does the building's exterior seem to change color throughout the day?
The building was designed by ECI Alaska Architecture and clad in iridescent stainless-steel tiles that shift between blues, greens, and purples as natural light changes — intentionally evoking the colors of Resurrection Bay and the surrounding mountains. The lighting design earned an IES Illumination National Award of Merit. The south facade also features a colorful mural of a family gathered by a campfire.
Can I borrow from other Alaska libraries with my Seward card?
Yes. Seward Community Library participates in the Alaska Library Catalog (ALC), a statewide consortium of 87 libraries with over 3.2 million titles. Cardholders can search the full catalog, place holds on items from partner libraries, and pick them up locally. The same card also unlocks the Alaska Digital Library for free eBooks and audiobooks via the Libby app.
What is the Swetmann Scholarship and how is a library card connected to it?
The Swetmann Scholarship honors Viola Swetmann, a co-founder of the Seward Library. Since 1978 — making it one of Alaska's oldest continuously running scholarship programs — the Seward Community Library Association has awarded annual scholarships of up to $1,500 to Seward-area students ages 16–21 who hold a current library card. Rather than grades or financial-need forms, applicants submit an original creative project inspired by the library or museum, evaluated on research depth, originality, and connection to Seward's history.
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