Prince George’s County library system names Catherine E. Hollerbach as new director
Catherine E. Hollerbach will take over July 13 at a library system serving more than 966,000 residents, where board control, staffing and access will shape her first year.
Prince George’s County Memorial Library System named Catherine E. Hollerbach as its next director on June 30, putting a longtime Maryland library executive in charge of one of the county’s most heavily used public systems effective July 13. The appointment lands at a moment when the system must keep serving more than 966,000 residents through 19 branches, a law library at the county correctional center, pop-up services and digital resources.
Hollerbach arrives with nearly 40 years in public libraries and a record that already includes service inside Prince George’s County. Early in her career, she worked as PGCMLS West Area Manager, overseeing high-volume branches and helping shape service and facility planning. Most recently, she served as chief operating officer at Anne Arundel County Public Library, where she ran operations for 16 branches and more than 400 staff members.
Her background also points to the operational tradeoffs now facing county libraries. In June 2024, Anne Arundel County Public Library reduced weekday closing hours from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Hollerbach said the final hour represented only 1 percent of usage. That kind of decision, balancing access against limited resources, is the sort of call she will bring to a system that must spread staff, hours and programming across a county that spans 483 square miles.
Prince George’s leaders also highlighted Hollerbach’s work on services that reach beyond books. The system said she helped establish Maryland’s first Book Sanctuary and advanced a kindergarten-readiness strategy that included 1000 Books Before Kindergarten and reached more than 14,800 families. Her portfolio also included public health partnerships, workforce development and efforts to improve equitable service delivery. During her tenure at Anne Arundel, she also helped guide the library through the COVID-19 response, negotiate a first union contract and build collaborative teams.
That mix of experience matters in Prince George’s County, where the library system serves a population that is 59.7 percent Black and 20.9 percent Hispanic regardless of race, with a median age of 39.0, according to the county profile. The county’s 2022 population estimate was 946,971, and officials describe it as Maryland’s second-largest jurisdiction. The county board of library trustees sets policy over library operations, budgetary controls, personnel regulations and types of services, so Hollerbach will step into a governance structure that directly shapes branch access, staffing, programming and online service delivery.
PGCMLS said its 2024 annual report reflected a year of growth and evolution, with a seamless transition between in-person and online environments. Hollerbach’s first-year test will be whether that balance holds while the system keeps pace with a fast-growing, diverse county.
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