The Seward Public Library was first organized as a reading room in 1888. In 1913, despite a tornado which tore through the town, the reading room was reorganized as a city library and was housed in a new building made possible through local donations and a grant from Andrew Carnegie. Major renovations took place in the late 1960s and in the mid 1980s. In 1990 the Seward Library Foundation was formed to raise money for a new library building and on September 2, 2003, the new Seward Memorial Library opened its doors to the public.

Seward Public Library and YMCA building in 1915

Seward Middle School students passing books from the old library building to the new in August of 2003.