The Pierce County Library System (PCLS) is a library system serving the residents of

Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 60th-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. Over its 70+ years, it has had four directors: Marion Cromwell, Carolyn Else, Neel Parikh and Georgia Lomax.

Locations

Current Locations

*Administrative Center & Library ( Tacoma, Washington) * Anderson Island * Bonney Lake * Buckley *

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Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

* Gig Harbor/Peninsula * Graham *Key Center (

Key Peninsula The Key Peninsula ("The KP" or "The Key" to some locals) is a finger of land in Puget Sound, Washington, United States. It is approximately long and extends south from the Kitsap Peninsula. It is part of Pierce County, Washington. Some of its ...

) *

Lakewood Lakewood may refer to: Places Australia * Lakewood, Western Australia, an abandoned town in Western Australia Canada * Lakewood, Edmonton, Alberta * Lakewood Suburban Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Philippines * Lakewood, Zamboanga del S ...

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

/ Edgewood * Orting * Parkland/ Spanaway * South Hill * Steilacoom *Summit ( Tacoma) *

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*Tillicum (

) * 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

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 Fircrest is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,156 at the 2020 census. History Fircrest was officially incorporated on September 19, 1925. Like its neighbor University Place, it is a middle-class suburb o ...

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Ruston Ruston may refer to: Place names ;United States * Ruston, Louisiana * Ruston, Washington ;United Kingdom * East Ruston, Norfolk, England * Ruston, North Yorkshire, England * Ruston Parva, East Riding of Yorkshire, England Companies * Ruston (engi ...

References

External links

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