Pierce County Library System

Pierce County Library System
Pierce County Library System
	Fife branch
	47°09′20″N 122°23′13″W / 47.15556°N 122.38694°W
Location	Pierce County, Washington , US
Type	Public library
Established	1946
Branches	20 locations
Collection
Size	1.2 million items
Access and use
Circulation	7.4 million
Population served	580,835
Members	334,362
Other information
Budget	$31.9 million
Director	Gretchen Caserotti
Website	piercecountylibrary .org
	References: Washington Public Library Statistical Report, 2016

The Pierce County Library System (PCLS) is a library system serving the residents of Pierce County, Washington . The Pierce County Library System has 20 library locations serving 580,000 people in unincorporated Pierce County and 15 cities and towns which have annexed to the system for library service. It circulates 6.9 million items annually, hosts seasonal youth story times, teen clubs, events for youth and adults, classes for skills development and technology, an active summer reading program, and connects with social media. In 2016, there were 334,362 library cardholders, PCLS locations had more than 2.2 million visitors, and the website had more than 3.5 million visitors. ^[3]

History [ edit ]

The Pierce County Library System was formed by a ballot measure passed by voters in unincorporated Pierce County on November 7, 1944. The library began operating on January 2, 1946, and opened seven station branches in its first year. ^[4] The system served unincorporated areas of the county as well as towns and cities that annex or contract with PCLS. Over its 75+ years, it has had five directors: Marion Cromwell, Carolyn Else, Neel Parikh, Georgia Lomax, and Gretchen Caserotti.

Locations [ edit ]

Current Locations [ edit ]

Administrative Center & Library ( Tacoma, Washington )
Anderson Island
Bonney Lake
Buckley
DuPont
Eatonville
Fife
Gig Harbor/Peninsula
Graham
Key Center ( Key Peninsula )
Lakewood
Milton / Edgewood
Orting
Parkland / Spanaway
South Hill
Steilacoom
Summit ( Tacoma )
Sumner
Tillicum ( Lakewood )
University Place

The library's headquarters, Administrative Center & Library, is in the Summit-Waller area, southeast of Tacoma, Washington . The busiest locations are Gig Harbor, South Hill, Lakewood, University Place, and Parkland/Spanaway.

Former locations [ edit ]

The library system has added and closed many other library locations over its history. Defunct branches include: American Lake Gardens, Browns Point, Longmire , McNeil Island , National, and Wilkeson .

Service area [ edit ]

The Pierce County Library System serves all of rural Pierce County and any of the cities that have annexed into its service area. This includes all of the cities listed above, but does not include Carbonado , Fircrest , and Ruston .

References [ edit ]

^ "Library Board to hold final public hearing on 2018 budget and discuss other issues" (PDF) (Press release). Pierc County Library System. December 7, 2017 . Retrieved December 25, 2017 .
^ "2016 Washington Public Library Statistical Report" (PDF) . Washington State Library . October 2017 . Retrieved December 25, 2017 .
^ "2016 Annual Report to the Community" (PDF) . Pierce County Library System. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 8, 2017 . Retrieved August 28, 2022 .
^ "A Short History of Pierce County Library: 1946 ? 1965" (PDF) . Pierce County Library System . Retrieved January 9, 2018 .

External links [ edit ]

Official website

This article relating to library science or information science is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it .

This Pierce County, Washington state location article is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it .

[1] "Library Board to hold final public hearing on 2018 budget and discuss other issues" (PDF) (Press release). Pierc County Library System. December 7, 2017 . Retrieved December 25, 2017 .

[2016Stats-2] "2016 Washington Public Library Statistical Report" (PDF) . Washington State Library . October 2017 . Retrieved December 25, 2017 .

[3] "2016 Annual Report to the Community" (PDF) . Pierce County Library System. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 8, 2017 . Retrieved August 28, 2022 .

[4] "A Short History of Pierce County Library: 1946 ? 1965" (PDF) . Pierce County Library System . Retrieved January 9, 2018 .

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v t e Libraries in Washington state
Washington State Library · Washington Talking Book & Braille Library
Large systems	Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries King County Library System Kitsap Regional Library Mid-Columbia Libraries NCW Libraries Pierce County Library System Seattle Public Library Sno-Isle Libraries Spokane County Library District Timberland Regional Library
Mid-sized systems	Bellingham Public Library Everett Public Library North Olympic Library System Puyallup Public Library Spokane Public Library Tacoma Public Library Walla Walla County Library District Walla Walla Public Library Whatcom County Library System Yakima Valley Libraries
Former systems	Renton Public Library

Authority control databases
International	FAST ISNI VIAF
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People	ISIL