Topsham Public Library Director Preece named Outstanding Librarian of Year

TOPSHAM — Topsham Public Library Director Susan M. Preece was named the Outstanding Librarian of the Year, 2019 by the Maine Library Association at their annual conference Sept. 29.
Preece, who has been director of the Topsham Public Library since 2005, started her library career at the age of 16 at the Mount

Kisco Public Library in New York, where she worked fulltime after college. After taking time off to raise her boys, she earned a master’s degree in library science in public libraries from Long Island University. Before coming to Topsham, she was head of children’s services at the Chappaqua Library in Cappaqua, N.Y.
The Outstanding Librarian of the Year Award was created in 1993 to highlight professional achievement and service to the Maine Library Community. Preece exemplifies these values and is a deserving recipient of this award, having devoted her professional life to public libraries, the MLA said in a news release.
“I am incredibly honored and pleased to receive the Outstanding Librarian of the Year Award from the Maine Library Association,” said Preece. “I am especially humbled when I look at the list of the many outstanding individuals similarly honored.
“This award, however, is not just the accomplishment of this librarian,” she said. “We are only as good as the teams with whom we work. In 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,” she said. “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. 21 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.”
Next on her agenda is a new long-range plan for the library. “We want to continue to have open and honest dialogue with town officials and other community stakeholders about what we are doing and where we are going as a library,” she said. “This is the key to success.”
“We need to help level the playing field for all. At the Topsham Public library everyone has the ability to use our services along with the shared resources available across the state. I see the library continuing to respond to the needs of the community. There is a great energy in this library. The architecture is warm and inviting. The people are happy here and the facility literally opens its arms and says come inside. This is your place! While it is an honor to win an award, this is what’s important.”
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.