Pierce County Library System (PCLS) is a library system serving the residents of Pierce County, Washington. Pierce County Library System has 20 library locations serving more than 563,000 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 2014, PCLS locations had more than 2.3 million visitors and the website had more than 2.1 million visitors. In 2015, there were more than 300,000 library cardholders.
Contents
History
The Pierce County Library System was established by the Washington State Legislature in 1946 as an independent rural library district to serve unincorporated areas of the county as well as towns and cities that annex or contract with PCLS. Over its 65+ years, it has had four directors: Marion Cromwell, Carolyn Else, Neel Parikh and Georgia Lomax.
Libraries
The library's headquarters, Administrative Center & Library, is in the Summit-Waller area, southeast of Tacoma, Washington. The busiest locations are South Hill, Gig Harbor, Parkland/Spanaway and Lakewood.
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.