Ziba Perez is the Palisades Young Adult Librarian. She attended a recent Palisades Rotary Meeting, explaining about zines.
Ziba Perez is the Young Adult Librarian at Palisades Branch Library, bringing enthusiasm and a plethora of experience to her job.
When Perez was in elementary school, she would walk with her best friend to the Los Altos Neighborhood Library, before going home to meet her parents, who were returning from work. Her Iranian father was a mechanical engineer at Boeing and her Mexican mother worked as a chemical engineer for the Los Angeles County Fire Department Hazmat Division.
Perez did not initially plan on a library career, instead, after high school she attended UC Irvine, majoring in biological science, receiving her degree in 2005, with plans to go to medical school.
Subsequently, she received a second bachelor’s degree art in film and media studies.
Plans changed, and Perez said, “I decided to be a librarian after a few years working full time as an academic library assistant at UC Irvine Libraries.”
She attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and received her master’s degree in library and information science. After graduation, Perez interned at the American Film Institute’s Louis Be Mayer Library Special Collections.
“I thought about going back to school for a second master’s degree in film, to help me get a position as a film librarian,” said Perez, who had also applied for jobs.
“I happily ended up working as a public librarian instead!” she said. “My first position was with the OC Public Libraries in California at the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Branch as the Bilingual Adult Librarian in 2013.”
Ten years later, “I am now here working with teens at the public library in the beautiful Pacific Palisades and I couldn’t be happier,” said Perez, who works with the teen council, which meets Thursdays.
Perez says it’s a great opportunity to meet others from nearby high schools. The group also suggests purchases for the library and plan library programs. She urges members to lead or implement a “Teens Leading Change” project.
“We are currently working on a Zero Waste Teens Leading Change initiative that you can read about here: https://tlc.lapl.org/projects/working-towards-zero-waste/
She has also brought a zine collection program to this library. “I became interested in zines as a teenager growing up in the mid-nineties in the music scene of Los Angeles County,” Perez said. “I have made my own zines, which I named Zebra Radar Zines, for the first L.A. Zine Fest in 2012.”
Pronounced like magazine—without the mag—zines are self-published, independently made, usually photocopied, and have a small print run. Patrons with library cards can check them out: https://ls2pac.lapl.org/?section=resource&resourceid=2022785555.)
On the horizon, is a 3D printing program. “I’d like to bring 3D printing to the Palisades library,” said Perez, who before working for the City of Los Angeles, worked for the City of Long Beach as the head of our 3D Printing MakerSpace Studio.
“We have two printers right now that are new to the branch and we will be getting a third newer one this summer,” Perez said. “I’m excited to demonstrate how 3D design can be a useful and creative resource.”
The newly transplanted Palisadian loves the hiking opportunities at Will Roger and Temescal Canyon and “I am just learning to surf.”
Asked about her name, she explained, “my parents gave me and my two siblings Persian names.
“Ziba is the word for beautiful in Farsi,” she said. Her two siblings are named Hamid and Nasim.
Perez added, “I love that our library system has such a large Persian Language collection (https://lapl.org/persian).”
Thank you so much for the interview Sue!
Small edit to my last quote: https://lapl.org/persian