David Van joined UBC in 2009 and is currently a Collections Management Assistant at UBC Library’s Collections Services department. In his role, David ensures that collection items—from books and journals to DVDs and other media—are properly prepared before they are distributed across library branches.
One of David’s highlights about working at Collections Services is seeing the inner workings of the library’s collections system. “When I first started, I didn’t realize how much work goes on behind the scenes before something ends up on the shelves: from ordering the materials to cataloguing and marking them up, and the size and wealth of knowledge of our dedicated professionals.”
“One might see books on the shelves and think ‘that’s it,’ but there is a lot more going on behind the scenes.”
David was born and raised in Vancouver and studied accounting before joining UBC. He previously worked as an Accounting Assistant at an imaging solutions company where he was in charge of preparing financial statements, reconciliation, and accounts payable. Since transitioning into his role at UBC Library, David has had the chance to experiment with new processes, particularly while working with Excel.
“When I was working as an Accounting Assistant, I worked with spreadsheets quite a bit but they were usually based on existing templates. As my role expanded at UBC, I had the opportunity to create my own based on what I needed and with some of the courses I took through LinkedIn Learning, I was able to experiment with new functions.”
Of the six UBC Library aspirational values, David says that trust and respect, creativity and innovation, and growth and appreciation best reflect his experience working at UBC Library. He acknowledges his former and current supervisors, Judy, Doug, and Rudi, for supporting his professional growth.
“They’ve trusted me with key responsibilities and allowed me to experiment with new ways of doing things. I’ve learned a lot from them. I try to pay it forward with our student assistants in hopes that they take away something valuable when they move on.”
David encourages new hires at the UBC Library to ask questions and explore new ideas. “Keep an open mind. Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions and share your ideas on how things can be done differently. Your ideas can improve how things are currently done—you never know until you try.”
In his spare time, David enjoys exploring Vancouver by bike and playing video games.
Learn more about UBC Library’s Collections.