David is the Head Librarian at Crandall University in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada (1,280 FTE). He has been a member of ACL since 2019.
Librarian Career
I began my career as a librarian…because a librarian friend encouraged me to do so. After completing a master’s degree in English literature, it had been my intention to become an English professor, but my friend knew me well and urged me to apply to library school instead, which I did. I soon discovered that working as an academic librarian involved all the things I liked about the idea of working as an English professor and didn’t involve the things I didn’t like about the idea of working as an English professor. I am very grateful that God has placed people in my life who know me and have been able to guide me in important life decisions like this one.
Between the Pages: Getting to Know Our Member of the Month
Describe yourself using a book title: In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado
What’s the best thing about being a librarian? I serve a God who creates order out of chaos, and He invites me to partner with Him in doing so through library work.
What are you currently reading? Reframing Academic Leadership by Joan Gallos and Lee Bolman
How do you as a librarian contribute to your campus or community? In my role as Head Librarian at Crandall University, I have three direct reports and supervising them is one of my main tasks. I perform all of the selection and acquisition tasks at our library, including negotiation with vendors. Strategic planning for the library is a significant part of my position and I help in this area outside the library as well by serving on Senate, Academic Council, and the Staff Executive Committee.
Do you have any specific interests in the library world? I have a particular passion for preserving and providing access to public domain texts on platforms such as Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of work? My main hobby is creating audiobooks on LibriVox and supporting its objective “to make all books in the public domain available, narrated by real people and distributed for free, in audio format on the internet.” I have portrayed many characters in novels and plays on LibriVox and have had several recurring roles including Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes series and Charles Parker in the Lord Peter Wimsey series. I particularly enjoy collaborating with my wife to portray amorous couples in various works of fiction.
ACL Involvement
How were you introduced to ACL? I started working at Redeemer University in 2019. My supervisor, Marlene Power, became a great mentor to me and she encouraged me to join ACL and to attend the annual conference. I attended online for the first three years and have attended in person annually ever since. I benefitted greatly from my ACL membership from the beginning, and the level of benefit grew significantly when I started attending the annual conference in person.
Describe ACL in three words: Association, Christian, Librarians
What do you value about ACL? ACL is a tight-knit, caring community of people who are passionate about Jesus and about librarianship. I have found nothing else like ACL. Where else can you find a group of Christians who understand and care about MARC records, or a group of librarians who want to apply biblical principles to their work? Ultimately, I’m a better Christian and a better librarian because of my involvement with ACL.
How are you or have you been involved in ACL? I serve as a Member-at-Large on the Christian Library Consortium. I am an incoming Co-Convener of the Current Library Directors Interest Group. I have presented workshops at the ACL Annual Conference on two occasions.