We have a new Youth Services Librarian at the Gering Library. I asked her a few questions so you could get to know Kira Perez a little better.

Tell me a little about yourself and what your plans are.

I grew up in the valley and graduated from Gering High School.  I went on to get an Associate of Science from WNCC and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nebraska. In the fall I’m starting a master’s program in Library and Information Studies online through the University of Alabama. During college, I worked at the Gering Public Library as a library assistant. I’m excited to be back and to get started with children’s programs!  Weekly storytime and LEAP programs will continue, and I’m planning to expand library programs for elementary age-children.

Favorite follows on social media?

My favorite Instagram accounts are @thekneadtoread and @tylerthrasherart. @thekneadtoread is an account dedicated to making food inspired by books. Sometimes the food is based on recipes within the book, sometimes it’s based on the cover art. Her photos and food are vibrant and colorful and always make me hungry. Often times I get book recommendations from this site.

@tylerthrasherart posts a bit of everything, but it’s all a mashup of science and art. Tyler Thrasher’s page focuses on all of his creative projects, from variegated plant propagation to cicada plushies to crystallized flowers.  I love his account because it’s weird, it’s creative, and it’s wholly unique.

Why did you want to be a librarian?

The simple answer is that I love what libraries can offer. They have programs, information, and entertainment that are available for free to the public without any qualifications. I wanted to be a part of that.

Which children’s book character would you most like to spend an afternoon with and why?

I would love to spend an afternoon with Pete the Cat.  In all of his books he’s very laid back and doesn’t let anything get to him, and I think spending the afternoon with him would be very relaxing.

Favorite chapter book and teen book?

This took me a while to decide, but one of my favorite middle grade chapter book series is the A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. A Series of Unfortunate Events consists of 13 books, but throughout the main story are the ramblings of Lemony himself. These sections talk about the author’s sensationalized personal life and are filled with big “dictionary words” that I didn’t know. Even if these sections were fictional, they made me feel like I was in on a secret when I was a kid. Throughout the books, the author also hid several messages in oddly capitalized letters and similar ciphers. This made me think that all books would have secret codes (and I wish more would). Tied for a close second are A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis.

My favorite teen/tween book is Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri. It’s a semi-fictional memoir about the author’s experiences growing up in Iran and moving to Oklahoma as a refugee.  Nayeri weaves his own story into many different forms. The memoir gets tangled into Persian folklore. He discusses his family’s past, their reasons for leaving Iran, and his experiences in Oklahoma.  Everything Sad is Untrue ignores the traditional western method of storytelling. Instead it becomes a continuous and beautiful story of a middle schooler in a foreign land trying to tell his story.

What are you looking forward to working on after summer reading is over?

I’m looking forward to creating programs for elementary kids, and to working with our fantastic library assistants Lexi and Hayley to continue to build the teen program.  I’m lucky to have stepped into a great team, and I’m excited to continue to build up the youth services.

What did you want to be (as an adult) when you were 10?

For most of my childhood I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I was pretty stubborn about it.

Do you have pets?

I do! I have two black lab mixes, Draven and Fable, and two cats, Dahlia and Count Chocula.