Susan M. Preece

Topsham Public Library Director, Susan M. Preece was named the Outstanding Librarian of the Year by the Maine Library Association at their annual conference on Sept. 30. 

The Outstanding Librarian of the Year Award was created in 1993 to highlight professional achievement and service to the Maine Library Community. 

“I am incredibly honored and pleased to receive the Outstanding Librarian of the Year Award from the Maine Library Association,” said Preece said in a news release. “I am especially humbled when I look at the list of the many outstanding individuals similarly honored.” 

Preece, who has been the director of the Topsham Public Library since 2005, started her library career at the age of 16 at the Mt. Kisco Public Library in New York, where she worked full time after college. After taking time off to raise her boys, when she was ready to go back to school she decided upon a Master’s in Library Science in Public Libraries from Long Island University on the Dobb’s Ferry Campus. Prior to coming to Topsham, she was Head of Children’s Services at the Chappaqua Library in New York. 

We are only as good as the teams with whom we work,” Preece saidIn my case, it starts with the outstanding staff at TPL. Every employee working in the library began as a volunteer. Their professionalism, dedication and enthusiastic participation in our endeavor to provide library service continually make me proud to be the director of the Topsham Public Library. We have an incredibly supportive group of Topsham community members and library patrons. They are the reason we are here. The Friends of Topsham Public Library who provide funding for virtually all programs through memberships and fundraising activities. We have strong support from the selectmen and town staff. Twenty-one local business supporters, Whitten Society members and many other donors and volunteers provide hours and dollars to keep the library humming. Finally, we have the visionary Boards of the Topsham Public Library.” 

Preece said she is now developing a long-range plan for the library. 

The mission of the Maine Library Association is to promote and enhance the value of Maine libraries and librarianship, to foster cooperation among those who work in and for Maine libraries, and to provide leadership in ensuring that information is accessible to all citizens from their libraries. 

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