Great Falls Public Library Director Susie McIntyre received the Sheila Cates Librarian of the Year award on Saturday at the 2024 Montana Library Association Awards Banquet in Butte. The Sheila Cates Award for Librarian of the Year recognizes a librarian for distinguished service to libraries and leadership in education and training for librarians.
McIntyre was named director of the GFPL in March of 2019. After Kathy Mora’s retirement in December of 2018, McIntyre served as acting director. McIntyre has worked at Great Falls Public Library for almost 19 years, serving 10 years as the library’s head of information services and three years as the collection development librarian.
McIntyre’s academic credentials include an administrative certification from the Montana State Library, Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington, and Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Montana.
She also previously served as the health educator/resource librarian for the Seattle and King County Public Health Department for nine years. In 2022, she was honored with the Great Falls YWCA’s “Salute To Women” award, which recognizes six exceptional women from Great Falls for supporting the YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.
At the ceremony, Great Falls Public Library Board of Trustees Chair Whitney Olson said about McIntyre, “Susie operates from a core belief that the people of our community deserve excellent library services. Her actions demonstrate time and time again that she is here to serve everyone. She has set Great Falls on the path to greatness.”
Olson also called her, “my library director and a woman that continually inspires me in her dedication and resilience.”