The Pierce County Library System (PCLS) is a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

system serving the residents of

Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous ...

. 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.

History

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. The system served unincorporated areas of the county as well as towns and cities that annex or contract with PCLS. When the system began in 1946, seven libraries served 55,000 people and offered 6,385 books from the Tacoma library, and the following milestones occurred throughout the system's history: * In 1947, the first bookmobile was put into service. * In 1984, audiobooks on cassette, library services for children in childcare centers, and a computer checkout system started. * In 1997, the Library System website was created. * In 1988, audiobooks on CD became available for patrons. * In 2005, Express Checkout began, allowing customers to check out books on their own. * In 2008, computers with high-speed internet were added to libraries. * In 2012, the system created a website for military personnel and their families. Over its 75+ years, it has had five directors: Marion Cromwell, Carolyn Else, Neel Parikh, Georgia Lomax, and Gretchen Caserotti.

Locations

Current Locations

*Administrative Center & Library (

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

) * Anderson Island * Bonney Lake * Buckley *

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

* Eatonville *

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

* Gig Harbor/Peninsula * Graham *Key Center ( Key Peninsula) * Lakewood * Milton/ Edgewood * Orting * Parkland/

Spanaway Spanaway is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,476 at the 2020 census, up from 27,227 in 2010. Spanaway is an unincorporated area near Tacoma, and is often identified together with ...

* South Hill * Steilacoom *Summit ( Tacoma) *

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...

*Tillicum ( Lakewood) * University Place The library's headquarters, Administrative Center & Library, is in the Summit-Waller area, southeast of

. The busiest locations are Gig Harbor, South Hill, Lakewood, University Place, and Parkland/Spanaway.

Former locations

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

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

External links

* County library systems in Washington (state) Government agencies established in 1946 Library districts Education in Pierce County, Washington {{PierceCountyWA-geo-stub