Technology Update

Technology/Online Services Available 

May 20, 2025, 10 a.m. Last Updated 

On April 21, 2025, Pierce County Library System (PCLS) Information Technology staff shut down all computer network systems after it detected unusual and potentially malicious activity. We immediately engaged cybersecurity experts to provide support through the initial investigation. 

As of May 12, 2025, we can now confirm that the Library was the target of a cybersecurity event, where an outside entity gained unauthorized access to the PCLS network. The initial systems investigation took about three weeks and included work with over a thousand individual systems, servers, software and databases. This thorough process was necessary to understand the extent of the breach.

The details of the information accessed remain unknown at this time and are still under investigation. Individuals whose personal identifiable information was exposed will be notified accordingly. As a practice, the Library minimizes the amount of personally identifiable collected information from library users.

A ransomware event is a criminal act, and we have notified the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

We appreciate your patience as our staff work diligently to provide uninterrupted service despite this outage. Significant progress has been made in the secure restoration of our systems, and full restoration is within sight.

For those of you with books or other materials to return, please hold onto those until we share otherwise. As a reminder, the Library System does not charge fees for late materials.  

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this challenging time. Your support is invaluable to us.