With help from Anchorage Friends of the Library, Keller hopes to raise more than $200,000.

“We have the money to pay for the bare bones of the library,” Keller said. “But we want to make this library something special and bring in new seating, tables, computers and shelving.”

Anchorage assemblywoman Debbie Ossiander, of Chugiak, described the value of the library to the area.

“I’ve used and loved libraries my entire life,” she said. “My first job, at age 12, was re-shelving the returned books at my school library. The modern library is more than shelves and stacks of books. Today’s library is the heart of our community and we should do the best we can to make the new library the best we can.”

Keller pointed to the success of the Girdwood branch that opened last June as evidence to what opening a first class facility can bring to a community.

“We did a similar fundraiser for that branch and the community really stepped up,” she said. “The combination of the new building and the upgraded furnishings has led to circulation and the number of users going up by more than 60 percent. People want to use the library now. It shows that there is some truth to the saying, ‘If you build it they will come.’”

When remodeling work is complete, the new library will feature a mobile laptop computer lab, an expanded book and media collection, enhanced computer technology, separate areas for children and teens, group study rooms and a larger reading area.

“The group study room is the most requested of all the new features,” Keller said. “That and the children’s room are areas we want to spend a little extra money on to get age appropriate furniture and other material such as white boards.”

Keller told the Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce during a Jan. 21 luncheon that a national study showed that before people move to a community its common for them to visit the local library.

“How a library looks both inside and out is an indication of how a community views itself,” Keller said. “If we can raise the extra $200,000 it will ensure we will have a finished library that reflects the best of the Chugiak-Eagle River area.”

There are a couple of ways to contribute to the fundraising effort: donations can be dropped off at the library or made online at either www.ancoragelibraryfoundation.org or at www.aml-friends.org.

“People should note that they want the money to be directed to the Chugiak-Eagle River branch or it will go into the Anchorage Library renewal fund,” Keller said. “That could be used at any of the municipal libraries.”

Reach the reporter at darrellbreese.@alaskastar.com.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, January 29, 2009.