Hosting Your Own Comic-Con: Bring Patrons to Your Library with Comic Books Workshop

1. HOSTING YOUR OWN
COMIC CON:
BRING PATRONS TO YOUR
LIBRARY WITH COMIC
BOOKS
P R E S E N T E D B Y
K AT I E L A M A N T I A & E M I LY
V I N C I
S E P T E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

2. THIS IS US!
Emily Vinci
Fiction Librarian
Favorite Movie: Jurassic Park
Favorite Comic Series: LOL like I could
choose
Favorite Superhero: Wonder Woman!
Patronus: Tina Belcher
Katie LaMantia
Teen Librarian
Favorite Movie: Perks of Being a
Wallflower
Favorite Teen Book Heroine: Aelin
Ashryver Galathynius aka Celaena
Sardothien
Favorite Superhero: Jillian Holtzmann
Patronus: Anna Kendrick

3. HAS YOUR LIBRARY EVER HOSTED A
COMIC CON?
Let us know in the chat!

4. - COMICS
- periodical sequential-art
stories that provide
installments of a larger
story, typically released in
monthly issues
- ex: Batman #1, Batman
#2, Batman #3, etc.
WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY…

5. - GRAPHIC NOVELS
- one self-contained sequential-art
story read as a novel
- ex. Ghost World
- OR (esp. in library terms) a
collection of several issues of a
story (generally one arc of the plot)
– more commonly referred to as a
“trade”
- ex. Batman Vol. 1 collects issues
#1-#7

6. - COMIC CON
- a convention celebrating not
only comic books and
graphic novels, but many
different facets of pop culture
and the fandoms therein

7. A (VERY) BRIEF HISTORY OF CON CULTURE
Though it may seem as though comic conventions are a new fad, they’ve
actually been around for awhile. What we know now as San Diego Comic
Con, for example, was established in 1970 as the Golden State Comic Book
Convention.
Its establishment gave it a place amongst countless fan conventions already
in existence, with science fiction fan conventions dating back to the 1930s
and comic conventions popping up in New York in the 1960s.
Cons started out with the purest of intentions, with passionate fans gathering
to discuss and debate the objects of their fandom. Often dismissed as
outsiders, freaks, and – you guessed it – nerds, conventions gave them a
place free from judgment and criticism and full of acceptance and
celebratory glee.

8. CON CULTURE & MAINSTREAM NERD TODAY

9. WHAT TO EXPECT AT A COMIC CON TODAY

10. EXAMPLES OF NOTABLE COMIC CONS

11. ADDITIONAL TERMS TO KNOW
Fandom: a subculture/community of people who share a common
interest in a particular piece of pop culture (i.e. movie, TV show,
book, etc.), often characterized, in part, for the feelings of empathy
camaraderie felt with one another over their shared interests
Fanboy/Fangirl: passionate, dedicated fan who is overzealous and
passionate towards one or more specific fanbase. It sometimes
overrides social boundaries and is used as a negative term, but many
fangirls or fanboys refer to themselves as such.

12. TERMS CONTINUED
Cosplay: Costume Play; creating and designing the costume and
the action of wearing it
RPG: Role-Playing Game in which players assume the roles of
characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for
acting out these roles within a narrative and make decisions
as characters. Ultimate example: Dungeons and Dragons

13. KNOW YOUR FANDOMS

14. GET INSPIRED BY YOUR COLLECTION!

15. POP CULTURE RESOURCES

16. AND DON’T FORGET…
THE INTERNET IS YOUR FRIEND!

17. WHAT DOES A LIBRARY COMIC CON LOOK LIKE?

18. OPPORTUNITIES TO GEEK AND SHARE
COMMON INTERESTS
- Main Events
- cosplayers
- panels & workshops
- artists
- vendors
- gaming

19. WHY SHOULD YOUR LIBRARY HOST A
COMIC CON?

20. POSSIBLE PROGRAM GOALS AND OUTCOMES
- promote your graphic novel collection/increase circulation
- provide social opportunities as well as opportunities for your
patrons to experience a Comic Con if they are otherwise unable
to (esp. if your library isn’t in a city or urban area)
- show the library in a new light

21. REACHING NEW AUDIENCES
- new people, or people using the library in a
new way
- people who come to other pop culture
events
- online communities, Comic Con fans
- not necessarily interested in traditional
library programming
- engagement and interactive elements are
important

22. BECAUSE IT’S FUN!

23. HOW CAN I DO THIS?
Things to have in mind when you decide to host a Comic Con:
- determining time, location, space
- effect it will have on regular services and daily operations
- staffing needs
- partnerships and natural allies
- off-site possibilities, other options

24. KEEP CALM AND CON ON!
Anyone can do this, no matter the budget, time, or staff.
You just need to have an open mind and a willingness to
learn.

25. LET’S DO THIS!
Assembling Your Comic Con
Team
Organization and Pre-Planning
Comic Con Day!
Q&A

26. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!
Putting together your Comic Con staff super
team

27. QUALITIES OF A VALUABLE COMIC CON TEAM
- adventurous
- imaginative
- pop culture savvy, or willing to learn
- range of experiences or expertise
- programming and non-programming

28. OUTSIDE THE REALM
Expand participation to staff outside of the
Comic Con team; they have pop culture
interests too!
- include departments not normally involved in
programming, for example circulation,
branches, maintenance, etc.
- discover hidden talents and interests
- make staff happier and gain additional staff
buy-in, thus increasing your ability to promote
programs from within

29. PLAY TO YOUR PLAYERS’ STRENGTHS
If a staff member has a particular interest
in an area of pop culture or programming,
let them take the lead.
If you're a supervising librarian, perhaps
you can't offer your staff higher pay or
many opportunities to go to professional
development conferences, but you can
offer them the freedom to incorporate their
own interests into programming and
outreach.

30. Emily, Fiction-
Artist and
Vendor
Coordinator
Monica, Kids-
Face Painting,
Kids
Superhero
Crafts
Dan- Teen,
Comics
Coordinator
Katie, Teen-
Fandom Teen
Event, Costume
Parade Leader
Allison, Kids-
Face Painting,
Kids Costume
Characters

31. ORGANIZATION AND
PRE-PLANNING

32. SCOPE AND SIZE OF YOUR CON
- Will your Con take place throughout the library or will it be contained in
one spot/room?
- Aside from your core planning team, who will staff your Con?
- What is your budget?
- All of these questions will help you determine how big your
Con will be before you even pick the date.
- Talk to your management team! Get them on board and keep them in
the loop.

33. SCHAUMBURG SIZE AND SCOPE

34. SETTING THE DATE
Timing is everything
- conflict with other local Cons
- school year
- community events
- weather conditions (if applicable)
Strategic date tie-ins with other pop culture events … (or not!)
- May the 4th
- Free Comic Book Day
- Harry Potter’s birthday

35. TIMING
Hours of operation
- all day event
- few hours
Things to consider
- patron impact
- staff time

36. SCHAUMBURG TIMING
Comic Con is coming!
Due to our library-wide Comic Con event,
there will be increased noise levels
throughout the library on Saturday, March 5, 1-4 p.m.

37. GETTING STARTED
The earlier you can start planning (relatively speaking),
the better. We recommend 6-8 months in advance,
especially for first-timers.
Brainstorming sessions
- keep in mind your target audience
- resources you have on hand
- staff resources and equipment
- performers & artists
- will likely need to be booked far in advance
- What are popular programs you already have, and
how can you put a pop culture spin on them for
Comic Con?

38. COMIC CONS = COMMUNITY
Community
- new audiences
- patrons young and old
- ultimate all ages programs, including adults without children – pop
culture is the great equalizer!

39. COMIC CON DAY

42. PROGRAMMING CHOICES
- taking traditional Comic Con features and making them accessible to
patrons
- relating it to pop culture and libraries
- utilize resources your library already has and make it Comic Con-esque
- mesh principles behind Comic Con and nerd culture into library life

43. WHY WE DID WHAT WE DID

44. KID OR FAMILY THEMED EVENTS
Crafts for kids
- superhero capes, armbands, masks, coloring sheets
Costume parade
- free
- attendees can show off what they made/wore
- shows patrons areas of the library they never/seldom see

45. FANDOM FRENZY
For Teens and Adults:
- trivia
- game
- snack
- craft
*chance to geek out with like-minded
friends and find new fandoms to
explore

46. CREATIVE WORKSHOPS
- Drawing workshop
- can separate by age
- give it a comic con twist- superheroes, Star Wars theme etc.
- Fandom art

47. ARTIST ALLEY

49. PART II
Partnerships
Budget
Marketing
Evaluation
Outcomes
Q&A

50. PARTNERSHIP POSSIBILITIES

51. PARTNERSHIPS - BOTH LOCAL AND IN A
GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY
- comic shops & bookstores
- game stores
- collectibles shops
- comics publishers
- nerdy organizations

52. BUDGET

53. PROGRAMMING ON THE CHEAP/DIY
- pull from multiple departments
- utilize staff talents
- make use of in-house resources

54. MARKETING

56. PASSIVE PROMOTIONS

60. SOCIAL MEDIA

61. GIVEAWAYS - reusable tote bags
- free comics donated from local a local comic
shop, sent from publishers, and withdrawn from
our collection
- small prizes available at the public service
desks to be handed out during the costume
parade (prizes we had on hand in our youth
department)

62. EVALUATION

63. COMIC CON EVALUATION PROCESS
We opted to have several staff members with clipboards and surveys to ask
people throughout the day how they felt about their Comic Con experience.
We kept the questions short and sweet:
- What did you like most about Comic Con?
- What could the library do to improve your experience at all-ages
programs?
- You and/or your children learned something new about pop culture –
disagree, agree, etc.
- In terms of attendance numbers, obviously it is quite difficult to keep track.
In order to come up with a count, we took the door count from the day and
compared it to door counts on the same day in past years.

64. OUTCOMES

65. WHAT WE LEARNED
- Additional staff members want to help, so let them!
- delegate responsibilities for before, during, and after the Con
- make sure everyone knows their duties
- keep it all ages and family friendly
- be flexible
- it will be loud!

67. ALA Graphic Novels & Comics in Libraries
Member Interest Group
ALA Games and Gaming Roundtable
Graphic Novel Roundtable
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

68. Katie LaMantia
klamantia@stdl.o
rg
Emily Vinci
evinci@stdl.org
CONTACT US
If you’re in Illinois and will be at ILA, look for our panel session:
“If You Build It They Will CON: Libraries and Comic Conventions
Assemble!”
Thursday, Oct. 20 9:00a.m.
Room 21

69. A Year of Programs for
Millennials and More
Amy J. Alessio, Katie LaMantia,
and Emily Vinci
Click here to buy from ALA Editions

70. A Year of Fandoms
Amy J. Alessio, Katie LaMantia,
and Emily Vinci
ALA Editions
Arriving Spring-ish 2017
Look for it at ALA Annual 2017!

71. THANK YOU FOR
ATTENDING!!

72. IMAGE CREDITS
https://hamm0ndeggs.wordpress.com/tag/batman/
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/45369036.jpg
http://2w6kxc22rrr9mabqt1mglgait6.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/austerity-cat-small.jpg
https://cdn01.vulcanpost.com/wp-uploads/2015/03/5172847fbb49535e849f907e458b00072cc6ae78f07e6eba6368535af487d4bd.jpg
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/59680683.jpg
https://i.imgflip.com/w2eey.jpg
http://allthingsfun.net/wp-content/uploads/pile-of-comics.jpg
http://www.natashabarr.com/blog/wp-content//IMG_0725.jpg
http://the-digital-reader.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/RTBookloversConv5-14red_logo5001.png
http://freefuninaustin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/tbf_logo_regular.jpg
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/64334757.jpg
http://www.gbfans.com/images/news/ecto-cooler-is-back-may-30th.jpg
http://www.gfi.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/In-the-tech-industry-timing-is-everything_Link.jpg
http://www.rokitperformingarts.co.uk/images/splat-when.png