LOCAL HEROES: Pierce County Library has an ear for what public wants

What do people want and need from their library today?

Pierce County Library System recently made a concerted effort to get ideas and input from thousands of the approximately 590,000 people it serves in unincorporated Pierce County and 15 cities and towns.

“People told us what was happening in their communities and their lives,” said Georgia Lomax, the Library System’s executive director. “We paired their issues and concerns with services that the Library can provide to support people’s lives and the health of communities. We also heard that we are on the right track with the services we are offering—although the theme for more was definitely heard.”

The public was universal in wanting more library service – books, e-books, bigger buildings and technology.

Pierce County Library, an independent municipal corporation and junior taxing district, averages more than 2 million visits per year to its branches, including locations in Eatonville, Graham, South Hill and Parkland-Spanaway. The system also provides services and programs directly to people in adult care facilities or who are homebound, and to schoolchildren and kids in childcare centers.

Lomax explained that the Library System is working to support communities, at the same time the costs to run the branches and programs throughout the county aren’t keeping up with revenues. This funding concern will lead to further conversations with the public in coming months, she said.

Library officials plan to build on the system’s publc-involvement activities from last year -- a series of public meetings, surveys and conversations to hear from the public about individual and community issues. Thanks to the input from more than 20 community leaders and nearly 12,000 responses from citizens, Lomax said, the system is committed to directing library services in three primary areas -- learning, enjoyment, and community connection.

The library system’s Strategic Plan focuses on a multi-year approach. To implement the plan this year, Pierce County Library has been updating choices of books and materials—on shelves and online—technology services, and the spaces inside some of its 20 branches. The result is streamlined overall operations to continue investing taxpayers’ dollars efficiently, Lomax said.

With the focus area of learning, Pierce County Library supports growth and curiosity by preparing preschoolers to learn, so children enter kindergarten ready to learn. The libraries also support school and career success for people of all ages.

For the public’s enjoyment, library staffs are helping people enjoy their free time and foster a love of reading, so that people discover outlets to relax and offset the pressures of daily life, Lomax said.

And in the focus area of community, the Library System is continuing to connect and strengthen communities by bringing people together around shared interests and activities, so people are engaged in their community and optimistic about its future.