The director of the Harford County Public Library system since 2002 will be retiring from the job on Nov. 30.

Audra Caplan has overseen the construction of three new branches and major expansion to two others in what is now an 11-branch system that posts an annual circulation of nearly 5 million. Caplan, a county resident who joined the Harford library in 1997, has also worked in the Baltimore and Howard county systems as well as at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

While in Harford, she put in place mobile libraries that serve youth and seniors and added a Young Adult program, complete with a coordinator and several advisory groups. She also established the Library Foundation, which helps provide additional resources. In the county's budget crisis last year, she staved off the closing of any branches.

The Board of Library Trustees has formed a search committee in the hopes of hiring a new director by the end of the year.