UCW’s Chris Reimer was recently honored with the 2019 British Columbia Library Association Outstanding Contribution Award.

The award is presented to individuals working in an academic library whose professional achievements have made a real difference to students, faculty or colleagues in British Columbia.

“In the year and a half that I have worked here, the school has grown dramatically,” Chris said.

“In this time, we have successfully scaled up the services that we provide to accommodate that larger student body, but also developed numerous new services and educational materials.”

Liaison Librarian Chris Reimer started working in the UCW library in January 2018 after moving here from Victoria.

He has developed a number of workshops for UCW students and has enabled students to further educate themselves in how to take full advantage of the library and the many different services offered.

He was nominated by Adrien Mitescu, the Director of Library and Information Services at University Canada West.

“We are happy to have Chris recognized with the 2019 Outstanding Contribution Award from the BC Academic Libraries Section. Ever since he joined the University Canada West library in January 2018, Chris has worked tirelessly to support our growing population – via in-class workshops, library orientation sessions and individual appointments,” Adrian explained.

“Informal feedback from our students has consistently indicated that Chris has provided outstanding research assistance service, always with his usual warm and friendly demeanor”.

Chris didn’t know he was nominated for the award but said it feels good to be recognized by his peers.

“I do feel quite proud of my achievements and those of my library colleagues,” he said.

Despite his accomplishments, his job is never quite done.

“While I am proud of this work, we still have so much more to do,” he said.

“Our to-do list never ends, but that is one of the things I really like about this job: it offers new challenges every day and because of this, I don’t think I could ever get bored in this role.”

Chris’s teaching sessions further help students with their studies. He helps them better understand APA style and proper research techniques. Chris has helped students at UCW with important lessons that they can use in future studies and to achieve success in their classes.

A librarian’s job is not just checking out books. It involves helping people, creating a dynamic customer/work patron environment, providing research and informational services.

Chris wants to help deliver that to all students at UCW.

He said loves how when a student finally understands something. It just clicks and they feel like they’ve unlocked a wealth of information.

Chris wants all students to experience this and not only use the library as a last resort.

“I would love to see more students come to us in the first place for research help. It would save students so much stress if they come to us early in the research process – as soon as they realize that they are stuck and not finding what they are looking for,” he said.

“We can help them develop research strategies and introduce them to resources they may not be aware of. Sometimes a five-minute chat with a librarian can save a student hour of frustration.”

University Canada West is a business-focused university in the heart of downtown Vancouver. The university offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Arts in Business Communication and Associate of Arts degree programs to help students succeed in today’s ever-changing business environment. Email [email protected] for information about our programs.

WRITTEN BY RAFAEL RAMIREZ