New session—Hosting Your Own Comic Con: The Ultimate All-Ages Program Workshop

CHICAGO—ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions announces a new session of our popular workshop, Hosting Your Own Comic Con: The Ultimate All-Ages Program with Katie LaMantia and Emily Vinci. This workshop will last 90 minutes and take place at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30 Central/12:30 Mountain/11:30am Pacific on Thursday, April 5, 2018.

Library programming is a popular way to motivate and engage patrons—no surprise there! In this workshop, popular duo Katie LaMantia and Emily Vinci, known for their successful workshop “Building Great Programs for Patrons in their 20s and 30s,” will teach you the “ins” and “outs” of hosting your own comic con that will draw new and returning patrons into your library! They’ll provide tips that will work for an array of budgets and library spaces. Katie and Emily will first introduce you to what exactly a comic convention is—how it involves more than just comics and graphic novels—and why pop culture is relevant and reaches across demographics and ages to reenergize library programming. Next, you’ll discover key tips for planning, organizing, and promoting your own con and how you can tap into community resources and discover hidden gems to form key partnerships. You’ll leave this workshop with the tools to create your own plan for a comic convention tailored to your library.

About the Instructors

Katie LaMantia is an award-winning teen librarian at the Schaumburg Township District Library in Schaumburg, Illinois. A former Teen Advisory Board member and current teen librarian and 20–30-something, she has a personal as well as a professional interest in serving the needs of this demographic. She has presented at multiple state and national library conferences about libraries, teens, and technology. When not running teen programs, tinkering with technology, and finding amazing books for young adults, she enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and extreme adventure activities.

Emily Vinci is a popular services librarian specializing in adult readers' advisory at the Schaumburg Township District Library in Schaumburg, Illinois. She has interests in expanding library appreciation and knowledge of comics and graphic novels, as well as catering to hard-to-reach demographics such as the 20s and 30s crowd. A pop culture fiend, she is always looking for new ways to incorporate popular culture into the public library.

Registration for this ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions Workshop is available on the ALA Store. You can purchase registration at both individual and group rates.

ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions Workshops offer a convenient, hands-on learning experience that will help you and your colleagues make the best decisions for your library. This workshop is licensed for use by staff or users of the purchasing institution or library organization.

ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions (ELS) produces high-quality professional development events and materials for the library profession. ELS events cover modern issues on a wide variety of topics in formats that include live workshops, asynchronous eCourses, and print publications. We help ensure that today’s library employees have access to the professional development opportunities they need, whether they are brushing up on the basics or expanding their horizons with cutting-edge tools. Contact us at elsmarketing@ala.org.

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