Bill Ptacek has always believed in the power of libraries.

Growing up in Chicago, the long-time director of the King County Library System wanted to make a difference, to disseminate knowledge. Unlike others, he looked past the education field and targeted libraries as a key piece of information sharing.

This passion and confidence in the potential of libraries took Ptacek all over the country, from Chicago to Idaho to Kentucky and finally to the Puget Sound area, where he has helped establish KCLS as the busiest library system in the nation.

“This area’s support for libraries is incredible,” he said. “People here get it.”

Since Ptacek was named the director of the system in 1989, KCLS has expanded from 30 libraries to 46, and the number of employees has quadrupled. In other states, Ptacek said, there is tenor of anti-intellectualism that can sometimes hold libraries back, financially.

In Washington, voters have agreed to tax raises, and annexations of cities into KCLS, an independent taxing district, a number of times. The most recent example occurred in 2010, when voters approved a levy lift for KCLS in the midst of the economic downturn.

Renton annexed to KCLS in 2010.

But Ptacek’s time hasn’t been free of controversy. He’s had run-ins with the library unions over the clustering of branches that forced employees to work at several libraries. And he’s recently been involved in a controversy over a decision to remove security cameras from the facilities over privacy issues when police wanted to use them to investigate a mugging outside a branch.

When Ptacek took over the system in 1989, KCLS had recently won an election for a large bond issue. A rural system for much of its existence, KCLS now had to keep up with the growth of suburban cities in King County. With the increased popularity, it became difficult to move from place to place, and the need for superior local libraries became clear.

The success of the system has been largely predicated on the ability to look forward. When asked about what he’s learned working in different areas of the country, Ptacek said it was so long ago that much of it isn’t relevant anymore. Libraries are ever-changing, evolving systems, he said. Rather than simply trying to keep up, KCLS has attempted to stay on the cutting edge.

Ptacek said the library is no longer the be-all-end-all for research. So he adjusted to make the library a sort of community center with a variety of services, including tax help and resources for job hunters.

“The nature of what we do, the kind of information we provide has changed.”

Ptacek’s work in the libraries fits with his personality, said Jeanne Thorsen, director of the KCLS Foundation. She points to his avid cycling habit as an example. A long-time bicyclist, Ptacek recently joined the Cascade Bicycle Club Board. This passion for whatever he is involved in has served Ptacek. Even now, 22 years in to his time with KCLS, Ptacek works at a library one night a week to get a hands-on feel of how things are going.

“Whenever Bill gets involved in something, he does so with full energy,” Thorsen said.

Meeting is Tuesday to hear plans for downtown library

KCLS Director Bill Ptacek will be among those attending a public meeting and open house on plans for the new Renton Downtown Library from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 13) at the Renton Pavilion Event Center.

The event center is at 233 Burnett Ave. S. in Renton.

The architectural team from Miller Hull Partnership will give a brief presentation and representatives from KCLS and the City of Renton will hear comments from the public and answer questions.

The architectural team will have general concepts for its potential construction but nothing specific.

KCLS also has plans to expand the Fairwood Library by approximately 5,000 square feet. It currently is 15,000 square-feet and the extra space will go to public use.

There will be a public meeting from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Oct. 10 to review and offer input about the Fairwood design. An architectural team from Schacht Aslani Architects will present at the Fairwood Library, 17009 140th Ave. S.E., Fairwood Construction won’t begin on the Fairwood Library until next year.

KCLS plans to have a public meeting to discuss building plans for the new Highlands Library in the future.

The City of Renton will hold its first steering committee meeting Sept. 28 to discuss the repurposing of the existing library over the Cedar River. The city has selected 35 people from the applicants they received ahead of July 29.

5 things you may not know about KCLS

1. KCLS has never used a card catalog.

2. 25 percent of items checked out by KCLS customers are sent from one of the branch libraries to another.

3. KCLS was one of the first library systems to provide internet access.

4. KCLS circulated 22.4 million items in 2010, enough to make it the busiest system in the country.

5. Last year KCLS received 31 million web hits and 10,199,150 visits.