Libraries provide a safe space and “third place” for community members to engage in meaningful programs, access vital information, and connect with their neighbors. Each day, we see the real impact that the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) has across the county. The Library Check-In is a seasonal newsletter that tells the stories of that impact.
On this page, you will read about news, events, and happenings from across the library system over the last several months. These feature stories highlight the ways in which PGCMLS serves the entirety of Prince George’s County. Click here to read stories tailored to individual communities and neighborhoods served by PGCMLS’ 19 branch libraries.
To stay up to date on all things PGCMLS, be sure to follow us on social media (@PGCMLS) by clicking the icons at the bottom of this newsletter.
Thank you for being a part of our Library story — dive in and enjoy!
As appointed by the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System Board of Library Trustees, Catherine E. Hollerbach joined PGCMLS as the system’s new Library Director, effective July 13, 2026.
A nationally respected public library leader with nearly 40 years of experience, including a previous role as West Area Director with PGCMLS, Hollerbach comes to this role from Anne Arundel County Public Library, where she served as Chief Operating Officer for 16 branches and more than 400 staff. Her career is distinguished by strategic leadership, operational excellence, and a deep commitment to meeting the evolving needs of diverse communities.
“Catherine is an exceptional leader with a strong record of guiding large organizations through growth and change,” says Sylvia Bolivar, Chair of the PGCMLS Board of Library Trustees. “Rooted in Maryland public institutions, she brings a deep understanding of the communities we serve. We are excited to welcome her back to PGCMLS and confident her experience will lead the library system into its next chapter with vision, integrity, and a strong commitment to public service.”
In her first months, Hollerbach has prioritized visiting each of PGCMLS’ 19 branches, listening to and learning from staff, and identifying where the Library can make operational changes to improve efficiency and align services with both funding levels and community needs.
“I am grateful for the warm welcome that I have received upon my return to PGCMLS!” Hollerbach says. “As I enter my third month on the job, and continue to learn about the good work that staff is doing, I am even more honored and excited to lead this wonderful organization as we continue to provide impactful programs, services, and safe spaces to the community.”
Hollerbach’s goals over the next few months are to continue to meet with and get to know Library staff, build relationships with funders and partners, and advocate at the county level for more funding so that PGCMLS can provide staff with negotiated raises, fill open positions, purchase more materials (both digital and hard copy), and improve buildings. Additionally, she will be working to ensure the branches are safe and well maintained, that PGCMLS continues to protect intellectual freedom, and that staff are supported on a day-to-day basis.
A two-part CTV interview with Director Hollerbach is available here: Part 1 | Part 2.
[As] sociologists and psychologists warn of the decline of so-called “third places” — social spaces that are neither home nor work — libraries stand out for their ubiquity and lack of an entry fee.
“One of my favorite things about libraries in general is that loitering is allowed,” [PGCMLS Library Director Cathy] Hollerbach said. “You can come and you can stay as long as you want, and we will be able to find something for you.”
— from “How many library cards can a book lover like me collect?” The Banner. Arts & Culture. July 30. Ginny Bixby.
In collaboration with the offices of Prince George’s County Council Chair Krystal Oriadha (District 7) and Prince George’s County Council Member Shayla Adams-Stafford (District 5), PGCMLS is proud to host two free grocery store spaces inside the Spauldings (District 7) and Fairmount Heights (District 5) branch libraries.
On May 28, Fairmount Heights Branch Library staff welcomed a standing-room-only crowd for the grand opening of the Fairmount Five Market, a free grocery store initiative hosted by the branch and spearheaded by County Council Member Shayla Adams-Stafford (District 5) in collaboration with Goodr. Dozens of elected officials, community leaders, and Fairmount Heights neighbors, — including Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore — gathered in the branch’s lower-level meeting room for a brief program ahead of the ceremony, celebrating the initiative that was developed to provide no-barrier access to free groceries for up to 175 families in the District 5 community.
“Public libraries are truly miraculous,” said Deputy Library Director Megan Sutherland in her May 28 remarks. “Everyone is welcome here. We are both a beacon of hope and a refuge during challenging times. I can think of no better place than this most trusted of public spaces to help ensure equitable access to food, the most vital of all resources.”
This event was followed on June 8 by a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Spauldings Branch Library for Council Chair Krystal Oriadha’s District 7 Fresh Market, a free grocery store for District 7 residents that serves up to 100 families each week and was developed in partnership with local organizations The StoreHouse and Community on the Front Line. Maryland State Comptroller Brooke Lierman joined Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy and PGCMLS Interim Director Megan Sutherland in giving remarks and touring the market space, after which community members were invited to shop.
“The Prince George’s County Memorial Library System is more than just the books on our physical and digital shelves,” Deputy Director Sutherland said at the Spauldings Branch Library opening. “Our library workers are truly committed to serving our residents, day in and out.”
After noting to the gathered crowd that PGCMLS’ nineteen branches saw more than 1.5 million visits last fiscal year — or, put into perspective, over double the attendance for our local NFL team — Megan underscored how both newly opened markets in PGCMLS branches demonstrate the breadth of the library system’s service to our neighbors:
“At a time when far too many in our community don’t have easy access to fresh and nutritious food, they will be able to come to a trusted and familiar place, their neighborhood branch library, to shop for what they and their families need. The District 7 Fresh Market joins the Fairmount Five Free Grocery Store as the newest examples of responsive and innovative use of partnerships and library spaces to better serve our residents.”
Both spaces are managed and operated by their respective County Council offices. Shopping is available by appointment only; more information can be found here.
On July 29, PGCMLS Deputy Library Director Megan Sutherland joined colleagues from the American Library Association (ALA) and the School, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition to speak at a Hill Briefing about the E-Rate program, which has provided affordable broadband to schools and libraries for nearly 30 years. Maryland schools and libraries have received $172,009,898.08 in E-Rate funding from 2021-2025.
“The internet is critical infrastructure for our nation's public libraries and schools,” Deputy Director Sutherland shares. “The internet will not disappear from our buildings if E-Rate is terminated. Instead, our public libraries and schools will be faced with devastating budgetary choices that will inevitably impact essential services for students and communities.”
As the ALA and SHLB note, “Connectivity now underpins nearly every function of a modern school or library, from online testing and classroom instruction to book checkout, security systems, transportation, HVAC and other daily building operations. That connectivity endures only because E-Rate continues to support it year after year.”
On September 15, Sutherland also joined a town hall on E-Rates hosted by the School Superintendents Association (AASA), where she spoke further about how public libraries rely on E-Rate funding, how children and students use the internet in public libraries, and the difficult decisions that public libraries like PGCMLS might face if E-Rate funding were to disappear. A video of that event is available here.
Summer Prince George’s (SPG), an exciting seasonal challenge for community members of all ages, invites community members to celebrate exploration and creativity through free events, community connection, and, of course, plenty of books! This year’s challenge theme, “Unearth a Story,” saw record-breaking community participation — 5,358 registrants, 2,534 completers, and 2.17 million minutes read (more than 4 years!) — and inspired incredible branch decorations, activities, and partner programs.
Each year, we see the impact SPG has on literacy outcomes for PGCMLS families. This impact might look like encouraging kids to practice their reading skills, learn new STEM concepts, or try out more challenging books. It might also look like encouraging adults to get out to their local branch and learn a new language, participate in a writers’ group, or challenge themselves to explore different genres at a book discussion program.
As one parent shared in July following a particularly exciting “STEM Fun: Ozobots” program at the Greenbelt Branch Library, these Summer Prince George’s memories are ones that endure. “My two children would not stop talking about the program on the drive home,” he shared. “They can't wait for the next one!”
More Summer Prince George’s photos are available on the PGCMLS Flickr.
This summer also saw the successful return of the PGCMLS Summer Book Crawl, an initiative that encourages collaboration between the Library and local organizations and restaurants to bring book-loving adults out into the community to socialize and enjoy their own library summer fun.
From returning favorites like “Pride Bingo” at Pizzeria Paradiso and the “After-Hours Book Fair” at miXt Food Hall to new offerings like line dancing with Dot Hicks at Janemark Winery & Vineyard, the 2026 Book Crawl brought joy to library-lovers across the county!
“Line dancing is all about socializing, about people coming together to have a sense of community belonging and fun,” said Dot following her extremely successful outdoor dance program in the middle of south county vineyards in early August. “Coming out here today, I got to see some new faces, some people who had never line danced before, and everyone just bringing their personality to the floor! My first time out in this part of the community — it’s really a blessing.”
“We got neighbors, friends, and three generations out here today — me, my daughter, and my granddaughter,” shared Charlene Thomas, one of Dot’s regulars at the weekly Oxon Hill Branch Library line dance program. “It’s a family affair!”
In early July, nearly 30 teens from across the DMV joined Library staff at the Laurel Branch Library for an energizing week of fun, critical engagement, and personal growth at the Library’s annual Social Justice Camp (SJC).
“This is the brightest, most engaged of any group we’ve had in years,” said Bowie Branch Library Public Services Specialist Chris Herrmann midway through the week, on the afternoon the teens were conducting mock interviews with visiting community partners from across the local social justice space. “They just genuinely seem to have a real interest in discussing issues, listening to each other, and sharing different viewpoints.”
“It’s actually been really, really fun,” said Max, one of this year’s teen participants, who came to SJC following a year serving as chair of a civic action committee in student government. “I thought we were just going to be talking all day about issues — I didn’t know we’d be so engaged, and it’s just been so fun.”
Treuth, a student from Crofton, was initially reluctant to spend part of his summer doing an intensive program like SJC. But he was quickly won over by how many different people he got to meet, and how many perspectives he got to hear about.
“Just in general, I’[m] really interested in how things impact us, especially things like immigration, gun violence — things that are going on right now,” Treuth shared. “I want to know how I am going to be impacted, [and] what can I do to make it better, so that I know that other people around me, and all my friends and everyone I care for, are going to be okay.”
“It’s honestly been really enlightening,” said Lisa Potillo, Community Relations Specialist from Maryland Wellness, one of the camp’s community partners. Potillo first engaged with the library through tabling to pass out comfort kits for local unhoused neighbors, and shared how great it was for her to get this chance to spend some time with local teens — especially as that’s not a cohort she gets to interact with on a regular basis. “I love being able to talk to the youth [...] and see what they’re thinking!,” she shared. “One of them asked me, How do you know if you’re making an impact in the community? And I was like, woof, that’s a spicy one!”
“It’s so great to be here with teens doing this community work!” said another partner from the community organization fair, following a particularly energizing conversation with a participating teen. “I want to see social justice camps EVERYWHERE.”
For more photos from the 2026 SJC Partner Fair, check out the PGCMLS Flickr.
PGCMLS honors the life and legacy of Dolly Parton — not only a talented artist, but a generous philanthropist and literacy champion who the world lost on August 25.
Because of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, PGCMLS’ Books from Birth program has delivered more than 1.3 million books to children in Prince George’s County ages 0-5 free of charge, providing our littlest community members with books — and memories — to last a lifetime.
Through Books from Birth and Dolly Patron’s Imagination Library, the next generation of Prince George’s youth will be well on their way to exploring stories, friends, and cultures through the expansive worlds of books.
Dolly's family has requested that donations in her memory be made to the Imagination Library. Should you find yourself chatting with neighbors about Dolly and about PGCMLS’ Books from Birth program, you can share with them that they can directly support Imagination Library families in Prince George's County by donating to the PGCMLS Foundation's Books from Birth fund: pgcmls.info/donate
To read about Dolly’s impact on one PGCMLS family, read The Banner's coverage (“‘Dolly Parton wants to give you a gift’: How the country music icon helped Marylanders learn to read”), then check out the Glenarden Branch Library story on this season’s Local Look-Backs page!
In this section of the Library Check-In, we shine a light on the Library’s wider community and pool of resources. These profiles spotlight people whose work inspires and supports the PGCMLS mission, and resources or programs we're excited for you to know more about!
In June, local Young Adult and Middle Grade author Lakita Wilson joined PGCMLS staff members Heather Jackson, Hawa Jalloh, Darlene Reyes, and Hannah Erickson at the Fairmount Heights Branch Library to sit in as the first ever guest on the Library’s “These Books Made Me” podcast — a guest spot she dreamed into being after contacting the team directly over social media.
“I don’t know of a better resource in the community than the public library,” says Lakita, who dedicated her Young Adult novel “Pretty Girl County” to the Fairmount Heights and Spauldings branch libraries. “One of the biggest resources for me growing up was the library. You have to understand something — I was here once a week, in the 1990s and early 2000s, checking out as many books as I could.”
During the span of time Lakita frequented PGCMLS as a kid, the Fairmount Heights Branch Library started to evolve. The third floor shifted from being the Adult Fiction section (where Lakita once snuck up to during one particularly bold library visit!) to the Teen Fiction section, game space, and study area it is today. “Visiting now, I understand how much of a community resource this is — there is a grocery store, there’s a music studio, there’s a 3D printer! So please come visit, you will be pleasantly surprised.”
Parts 1 and 2 of Lakita’s guest spot talking about “The Baby-Sitters Club: Stacey” with our “These Books Made Me” team are both available now on Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts.
On August 6, the Fairmount Heights Branch Library hosted “The Maker’s Corner Debut,” a makerspace showcase in the branch’s top-floor Dream Lab. In addition to the Dream Lab’s own team, other makerspace-fluent staff came out from the Laurel, Glenarden, and Bladensburg branches to support. Several dozen attendees packed into each session throughout the day, and more than 170 people ended up coming out overall!
From noon to the end of the day, PGCMLS staff led presentations that introduced all of the cool tools and equipment available to the community for free with a PGCMLS library card. Community members from South Bowie, Greenbelt, and further were in attendance, called to check out the creative tools available to them at the Dream Lab.
“We live at library programs through the summer,” said one Greenbelt mom who had two teenagers and a toddler in tow. “This was something we absolutely couldn’t miss!”
For the first half of the day, attendees concentrated in the Makerspace studio, where they learned about creating files for 3D printing, using the Cricut machine to make unique T-shirt designs, and operating the laser engraver. Later in the day, the showcase moved to the recording studio space, where PGCMLS staff broke out their instruments and customers were shown how to use the Lab’s professional audio engineering and podcasting equipment.
“It was so cool!” shared one attendee on Instagram after the event was over. “I made an appointment to come back and try [the equipment] again next week!”
For more photos from the Maker’s Corner showcase, check out the PGCMLS Flickr.
PGCMLS is proud to partner with the Prince George’s County Office of Human Rights (OHR) on a number of regular community programs, including the bimonthly “Lunch & Learn” virtual conversation series, where PGCMLS and OHR colleagues meet with authors and community leaders to discuss topics ranging from repairing the effects of racial injustice to fighting for equitable access to recovering from exile and loss.
Earlier this summer, local reporter J.J. Green — National Security Correspondent for WTOP — joined “Lunch & Learn” to discuss his new book, “The Noise War.”
PGCMLS Adult Services Specialist Audrey Lau, who co-hosts “Lunch & Learn” with OHR’s Public Outreach and Engagement Division Chief Kyla Hanington, was especially glad to get Green on the calendar, as his book deals with the impact of rampant mis- and disinformation.
Green’s book specifically tackles how he responded as a local journalist when the Pentagon changed its terms of engagement with media in 2025. In reaction to the Pentagon’s change in terms, Green turned in his press badge in October, and sat down to write this book in December. Marketed as a handbook, “The Noise War” includes a number of tools for everyday people to test the veracity of information coming across their feeds, highlighting our role as news consumers in preventing the spread of misinformation, and providing examples of things we can all do to combat lies with truth.
As part of their conversation, PGCMLS Adult Services Specialist Audrey Lau and OHR Public Outreach and Engagement Division Chief Kyla Hanington highlighted the ways in which Prince George’s County fought disinformation during the pandemic, and how PGCMLS specifically was instrumental in helping disseminate information about vaccine safety, mask distribution, and other important community efforts at the time. They also shared local examples of the way misinformation has led to harmful outcomes in the local community over the last decade, such as the ‘Pizzagate’ assault at Comet Ping Pong in 2016, and the incidents of January 6, 2021.
“The book is a call to action, to see the ‘noise’ as a war on democracy and human dignity, and to cultivate news sources that seek the truth and report events critically.” says Audrey. “I think it is useful for anyone who teaches young people about media literacy or who works in a communications or journalism field to learn how to pre-bunk (his language) lies by proactively building immunity to manipulation techniques.”
“Lunch & Learn: ‘The Noise War’ with J.J. Green” is streaming now.
All “Lunch & Learn” discussions are available to stream for free on the PGCMLS YouTube channel following the program, so make sure to sign up for notifications for fall discussions while you’re there!
Community members now have free access to The Banner through their PGCMLS library card. This new digital news resource can be found on the Library’s Online Resources page.
The Banner (baltimorebanner.com) is a recent addition to Maryland’s local news landscape. Earlier this year, the paper officially added a Prince George’s County bureau with a dedicated team. By providing PGCMLS customers free access to The Banner through their PGCMLS library card, the Library is facilitating greater media literacy and engagement with local issues for all Prince George’s County community members.
Note: PGCMLS-facilitated passes to The Banner expire every seven (7) days. Cardholders can renew their free access an unlimited number of times. Ad-block and pop-up blockers may interfere with the authentication process.
The funds raised by the PGCMLS Foundation help the Library expand the ways it serves the community. From Summer Prince George’s T-shirts to makerspace equipment to a substantial order of fun new STEM kits, gifts made through the PGCMLS Foundation make your Library stronger!
In early summer, a dozen Bowie High School theater students trucked a hand cart filled with foam blocks over to the auditorium at the Bowie Branch Library to put on the first ever public performance of their adaptation of Cori Doerrfeld’s “The Rabbit Listened.” Dressed in animal-ear headbands and matching drama-closet finds, the high schoolers delighted their storytime audience with a fifteen-minute production that they had designed intentionally to be both simple and interactive.
A favorite of the county’s Books from Birth families, “The Rabbit Listened” is the second title adapted by students in Ms. Bowen’s “Theater for Young Audiences” (TYA) program, following last year’s production of “Dandelion Magic” by Darren Farrell.
“We had to think about how we could do justice to the book,” said BHS student Maya ahead of the performance. Maya was cast as the Elephant in this year’s production, and, as a veteran of the TYA program, used her experience from “Dandelion Magic” to help make sure that this year’s script would be ready to meet the real-world unpredictability of their young audience. “We added a lot of space for breaks for them to react, [and] had to remind everybody that kids are going to say things on the fly that might throw you off, so you have to be able to improv your way through it.”
For more about this performance of “The Rabbit Listened,” check out the Local Look-Backs page!
In addition to the version that goes out to all PGCMLS cardholders (linked in PDF form above), the Library Check-In is further tailored to reflect "local look-back" stories within the specific geographies of the nine County Council and eight Maryland General Assembly Districts that cover Prince George's County. PDF versions of those targeted newsletters can be found below.
