Survey Favors New Library Museum
Nine out of 10 respondents participating in a recent telephone survey indicated they agreed that Seward needs a new library museum facility.
“We consider this level of agreement to be very high,” said Donna Logan of the McDowell Group, an Alaska research firm that contacted 208 randomly selected Seward voters for the 17-question survey.
The purpose of the survey was to gauge community interest in a proposed library museum facility.
Seward Community Library Association and Resurrection Bay Historical Society thanked the Foraker Group’s Pre-Development Program for its financial support of the survey.
Other survey findings show projected increases in library and museum usage if a new facility were to be built. Fifty-six percent of the respondents currently use the library on almost a daily to monthly basis. With a new facility, library usage would jump to 69 percent on a daily to monthly basis, according to survey responses.
Fifty percent of respondents had visited the Seward Museum in the past year. With more display space, traveling exhibits or increased slide show seating, visitation in all these categories would increase, ranging from 74 percent to 86 percent.
The survey also asked respondents their reaction to a 0.5 percent increase in the Seward sales tax to fund the proposed library museum. Twenty-one percent said they were “very likely” to vote in favor of the initiative and 37 percent were “likely” to vote in favor – for a total of 58 percent responding favorably.
“This relatively strong level of initial support is a positive place to start building momentum for a sales tax initiative,” said Keith Campbell, chairman of the Seward Community Library Museum Building Committee.
After reviewing survey results at its May 26 meeting, the Seward City Council decided to conduct a work session in June to craft a sales tax initiative for the October election ballot.
The public can review a copy of the survey results at the Seward Community Library.
The Library Museum Building Committee continues its efforts to promote and raise funds for the project. The committee invites the public to a June 18 Site Dedication Ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Adams Street (former site of Ray’s Reusables and the Lechner house). The City of Seward purchased the six lots for the proposed two-story library museum facility in 2006.
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