Mara Alpert is a native Los Angeleno who graduated from the SJSU MLIS program in 1998 and started in the Los Angeles Public Library's Children's Literature Department at Central Library in 1999. Writing and performing puppet shows, leading chaotic musical storytimes, and teaching kids and families how to best use the library are among her favorite parts of being a children's librarian.

Llyr Heller-Humphreys is the Senior Librarian in Acquisitions. As a former Young Adult Librarian, teen literature is a passion, as is working on festival committees such as the Libros Festival and Indie-Pendent Voices. Before becoming a librarian, she worked in post-production creating subtitles and closed captions for film and TV. Llyr has a degree in Film & Theatre from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master's of Library and Information Studies from San José State University. 

Christina Hairston is the Genealogy Librarian in the History and Genealogy Department of the Los Angeles Public Library. She earned a BFA in Film and Television Production from New York University and a Master's of Library and Information Sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her love of storytelling has evolved from filmmaking to writing, performing storytime as a children’s librarian, and now, podcasting.

Moderator: Sheridan Jay Cazarez is a librarian in the Exploration & Creativity Department at the Los Angeles Public Library. He's presented on bilingual early literacy programming, translation practices, and labor advocacy at the REFORMA National, California Library Association, Seguimos Creando Enlaces, and American Library Association conferences. Find his original translations of songs and rhymes for young children on his website, Bibliocuentos.com.

Stephen Gee is an award-winning writer and television producer, and the author of five books. His works include Iconic Vision: John Parkinson, Architect of Los Angeles; Los Angeles Central Library: A History of Its Art and Architecture; Los Angeles City Hall: An American Icon; Paul R. Williams: Master Architects of Southern California, 1920–1940; and Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City, 1900–1930. Gee was awarded the 2025/2026  Elizabeth B. Motika and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship in Architectural History at The Huntington. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in Norfolk, England.

Melissa Ortiz started with the Los Angeles Public Library as an Administrative Clerk for the Outreach Department and currently serves as a clerk for the Children’s Literature Department at Central Library and producer for Past Due. 

Mark Garbutt has been with the Los Angeles Public Library for the past four years and is currently the Acting Senior Storekeeper in Central Library’s Shipping Department. During his time, he has learned about the various departments at the Central Library and the branch routes our delivery drivers use to reach all the 72 branches.

Moderator: Sheridan Jay Cazarez is a librarian in the Exploration & Creativity Department at the Los Angeles Public Library. He's presented on bilingual early literacy programming, translation practices, and labor advocacy at the REFORMA National, California Library Association, Seguimos Creando Enlaces, and American Library Association conferences. Find his original translations of songs and rhymes for young children on his website, Bibliocuentos.com.

Tom McQuaide is a retired higher education administrator and educator. Since retirement, he has pursued his fascination with Los Angeles architecture and history. He has been a volunteer with the LA Conservancy since 2016, where he regularly leads public tours highlighting the many LA historic buildings and neighborhoods. Additionally, Tom has been a docent giving tours of Central Library since 2023 and is currently a member of the Los Angeles Public Library Docent Board and Training Committee.

Angi Brzycki is the Senior Librarian for the Digitization and Special Collections Department.

Moderator: Sheridan Jay Cazarez is a librarian in the Exploration & Creativity Department at the Los Angeles Public Library. He's presented on bilingual early literacy programming, translation practices, and labor advocacy at the REFORMA National, California Library Association, Seguimos Creando Enlaces, and American Library Association conferences. Find his original translations of songs and rhymes for young children on his website, Bibliocuentos.com.

Robert Anderson became a librarian in the then Fiction Department of the Los Angeles Public Library in 1980. In 1991, he was selected as Fiction Subject Specialist for the Literature and Fiction Department and has held that position since then. He was, rather ironically, working on a weeding project in the Central Library's closed stacks on the day of the 1986 fire, and he considers the subsequent seven years, which ended in the Grand Reopening, to be the most traumatic but also the most transforming and inspiring of his life and career.

Eileen King is the Subject Specialist Librarian in the Art/Music/Recreation Department in Central Library. Twenty-five years ago, Eileen joined the staff of Central Library after serving as the lead librarian on a community development project hosted by an East Coast neighborhood library. Eileen received her Master of Library Service from Columbia University and her Master of Arts from New York University. She completed a three-year graphic arts program at the Art Students League of New York.

Linda Rudell-Betts has worked at Central Library for over twenty years, fifteen as Senior Librarian in the Social Sciences, Philosophy & Religion Department. She enjoys the grand theater that can be the reference desk and its rewarding patron interactions. Linda has a degree in French Literature from the University of Texas and her Master of Library and Information Studies from UCLA. During her off hours, she enjoys playing bassoon and singing alto in community music organizations.

Terri Accomazzo is the Editorial Director of Angel City Press and has had a long career in academic and trade publishing. She started at Angel City Press as Assistant to the Publisher while completing her English degree at Pitzer College, and then, while working on her Master's in English at University College London, moved over to SAGE Publishing, where she stayed for almost a decade. Terri then made her way back to Angel City Press, where she’s been for a little over 7 years.

Danielle Ball is a librarian in the Business & Economics Department. She has worked at LAPL since 2018 and has an MLIS degree from UCLA.

Moderator: Sheridan Jay Cazarez is a librarian in the Exploration & Creativity Department at the Los Angeles Public Library. He's presented on bilingual early literacy programming, translation practices, and labor advocacy at the REFORMA National, California Library Association, Seguimos Creando Enlaces, and American Library Association conferences. Find his original translations of songs and rhymes for young children on his website, Bibliocuentos.com.

Kenneth A. Breisch is an architectural historian and Associate Professor Emeritus of Architecture at the University of Southern California, as well as the founder and past director of USC’s graduate program in heritage conservation. He is also a past president of the Society of Architectural Historians, a Board Member Emeritus of the Santa Monica Conservancy, and a member of the Board of the Santa Monica Public Library from 2001-2014.

He is also the author of several books, including Henry Hobson Richardson and the Small Public Library in America: A Study in Typology and The Los Angeles Central Library: Building an Architectural Icon, 1872–1933. He is currently writing a history of the Los Angeles Public Library’s branch system.

Tom McQuaide is a retired higher education administrator and educator. Since retirement, he has pursued his fascination with Los Angeles architecture and history. He has been a volunteer with the LA Conservancy since 2016, where he regularly leads public tours highlighting the many LA historic buildings and neighborhoods. Additionally, Tom has been a docent giving tours of Central Library since 2023 and is currently a member of the Los Angeles Public Library Docent Board and Training Committee.

Julie Huffman worked as the Genealogy Librarian at Central Library for over 10 years and also spent 24 years at the Los Angeles Public Library in many other roles, including as a young adult, children’s, and adult reference librarian. Julie recently retired from the Los Angeles Public Library after this interview was recorded. Julie received her Master of Library and Information Studies from UCLA and a Bachelor’s of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Moderator: Sheridan Jay Cazarez is a librarian in the Exploration & Creativity Department at the Los Angeles Public Library. He's presented on bilingual early literacy programming, translation practices, and labor advocacy at the REFORMA National, California Library Association, Seguimos Creando Enlaces, and American Library Association conferences. Find his original translations of songs and rhymes for young children on his website, Bibliocuentos.com.