Pierce County Library Board selects Gretchen Caserotti as executive director

Pierce County Library System announcement.

PIERCE COUNTY, Washington – The Pierce County Library System’s Board of Trustees selected Gretchen Caserotti to serve as its new executive director. Following interview panels with the Library’s Administrative Team and Leadership Team, presentations and discussions in a public forum, and interviews with the trustees, the board unanimously selected Caserotti.

“I am thrilled to join the Pierce County Library and look forward to meeting the residents served by the amazing library system,” said Caserotti. “Building community is at the center of my work. I’m an advocate for taking library services and resources to where people need them most. I look forward to learning how and where we can best bring value to Pierce County communities.”

Currently, Caserotti is the library director with the Meridian Library District in Meridian, Idaho, where she has served since 2013. She began her career as a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library.

Caserotti’s career has earned her numerous awards and recognitions. In 2010, Library Journal magazine named her a Mover & Shaker, which is an honor recognizing professionals who are helping shape the future of libraries. In 2018, the American Library Association awarded Caserotti the Fellowship for the Center of the Future of Libraries. In 2019, the Idaho Business Review named her one of the Women of the Year.

She earned her Master’s in Library Science at Pratt Institute in New York.

“We are delighted to work with Gretchen and know staff and the community will benefit greatly with her leading the Library System,” said Jamilyn Penn, EdD, chair of the Board of Trustees. “The Pierce County Library’s remarkable reputation drew a strong pool of candidates. Gretchen’s impressive business acumen, leadership success and excellent community building skills made her our top choice.”

Caserotti will start as the executive director on Monday, May 16. She will serve as the fifth executive director of the 76-year old Library System, which currently operates with a $43 million budget in service to all of unincorporated Pierce County and 15 cities and towns annexed to the system.

Caserotti will take the helm from the current Pierce County Library Executive Director Georgia Lomax, who announced her retirement last year. Lomax plans to retire next month.