Bill Ptacek

Chief Executive Officer | Calgary Public Library

Bill Ptacek joined Calgary Public Library as CEO in 2014, bringing his 40 years of experience leading libraries in the United States. In just four short years at the Calgary Public Library, Bill championed making Library cards free, which grew membership and brought the Library into more people’s lives. He challenged the Library to embrace innovation, as seen in a considerable investment and commitment to early literacy. System growth has also been a priority, with a system-wide renovation and improvement plan, two new locations opened to serve growing communities, and the opening a new 240,000 square foot Central Library. Bill previously worked as the Director of the King County Library System in western Washington state for 25 years. There, he led King County to become the Library Journal’s “Library of the Year” in 2011.