Dave Obee is the Editor-In-Chief at the Times Colonist and a geneaology expert. A native British Columbian, Obee started his career in journalism with the Kamloops Daily Sentinel in 1972, and has worked at newspapers in British Columbia and Alberta ever since. He came to the Times Colonist in 1997 and assumed his current position in 2000. His book to mark the 100th anniversary of the BC Library Association, The Library Book [see review below], placed third in the 2012 Lieutenant-Governor's Medal for Historical Writing Competition. Obee subsequently received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from UVic in 2012. In his convocation speech, he said, "[But] I realize that I am a bit of an oddity. Not many recipients can say that they did much of the work toward their degrees on this campus. I can, however, because I received a remarkable education here - not in a classroom, but in the library. So I should also thank Thomas Shanks McPherson and the Mearns family, whose names are on the library building. I have spent countless hours there over many years, digging through all sorts of materials to understand more about our history, and how to research it. I have learned a lot in that building across the lawn." Obee also mentioned with pride the British Colonist digitization project which made 50 years of newspapers available for all on the internet. He gave credit to the Times Colonist, the University of Victoria, the Public Library Services Branch (now Libraries and Literacy) and the Greater Victoria Public Library.

Review of the author's work by BC Studies:
The Library Book: a History of Service to British Columbia
Making the News: A Times Colonist Look at 150 Years of History

BOOKS:

2007 -- Finding Your Canadian Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide (with Sherry Irvine)

2008 -- Making the News: A Times Colonist Guide to 150 years of History

2008 -- Royal Oak Burial Park: A History and Guide

2010 -- Destination Canada: A Genealogical Guide to Immigration Records

2011 -- The Library Book: A History of Service to British Columbia

2012 -- Counting Canada: A Genealogical Guide to the Canadian Census

2014 -- Fifty! With a Fabulous Future (North Vancouver District Library. With cartoons by Adrian Raeside

[BCBW 2014]