Pursuing excellence for library service to children
Winning During COVID So, winning a major award at just about any other time would come with a different set of emotions. Winning during COVID is like holding our breath all over again. The news, alerts and aid during COVID of course takes complete precedence. But, you know, we geeks really can’t wait to celebrate with everyone!
The Art of the Con The Art of the con or convention is a fine art, but thankfully for you fearless reader, we have on hand Elise VanCise, creator and coordinator of the Annual Astor Library Geek Fest, now in its fourth year! Elise is the young adult coordinator for the Astor County Library in sunny Astor, Florida. First Things First! J – For the purposes of this article, we’re going to focus on what it takes to plan, host, conduct and maintain a successful con. But first, what exactly is a Geek Fest and why would a library want to have one? VanCise – Geek Fest is the name we gave to our mini-comic con or convention. It’s a one-day con where we have cosplay, anything you geek is basically our theme – superheroes, science fiction, horror – anything you want! This year we have exhibitors that do everything…
Librari-Con, our library’s annual anime mini-convention, features anime viewing, panels and forums. With almost 900 participants at this year’s one day event, our central Headquarters Library was transformed into manga mania. The Manga Lounge, also known as our Teen Area, offered a relaxing corner for attendees to flip through our collection of manga, graphic novels, and teen fiction. Artist Alley, held in our large activity room, offered a venue for artists to feature original artwork available for purchase. Attendees also bought anime, manga, and gaming books through our Friends of the Library Book Sale. Attendees could participate in improv, sing karaoke, and learn the logistics of cosplay. Customers attended sessions on learning how to draw manga, writing techniques, and publishing tips. We offered programs for younger children as well. Our Children’s Department was transformed into Chibi Corner where young children could color and fold origami. The Live Action Angry Birds…