New York Comic Con: Librarians Focus on Better Digital Access, Gaming
RSSBy Rocco Staino
Librarians stood in lines that stretched 10 blocks around New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to find out the latest in comics, graphic novels, anime, and manga at the 2011 New York Comic Con. The four-day event, from October 13 to 16, drew more than 100,000 comic enthusiasts, who packed the center's aisles to buy comic collectibles and preview the latest in this hot genre. But for librarians, the goal was to talk to industry leaders about the future of digital access to comics and explore streamlined methods for purchasing video games. But at the same time, he says print isn't going away. "It's possible digital and print will coexist, but if comic book publishing is strained now, what's it going to be like when most customers are digital natives?" Maziekien says more libraries across the country were expanding their ebook offerings to bring content to more patrons. ABDO publishers and comiXology.com, a provider of digital comics, were highlighted as two companies that serve the library market. In 2010, digital comics grew by 1,000 percent to more than $7 million, while graphic novels experienced a 20 percent decline. During that time, about 66 percent of public libraries provided ebook access and that number is expected to grow. Gaming was another hot topic explored in programs and on the convention floor. Activision's Skylanders Meanwhile, the difficulties that libraries face acquiring videogames was addressed in "Video Game Collection Development for Libraries." Led by J.P. Porcaro, a virtual services librarian at New Jersey City University and chair of the steering committee that created the new ALA Games and Gaming Roundtable, the program focused on the lack of information on how to build and maintain video game collections-and where to buy them. The issues discussed were the inclusion of older games in loanable collections, the educational and recreational value of game collections, the important role game collections will play in the future of libraries, and how to maintain the quality and relevance of game collections. Raising eyebrows from the audience, panelist Megan Kociolek, a children's and youth services librarian at New Jersey's Nutley Public Library, said she often purchased video games for her library from Amazon using her library's corporate credit card. In response, audience member Bacilio Mendez, a librarian and student at New York Law School, questioned whether it was an illegal practice since most libraries should make these purchases from an authorized vendor due to licensing agreements and copyright infringement issues. "I found the lack of knowledge around the legal issues that librarians should be aware of...very concerning," Mendez says. The issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) teens was addressed in the program "It Gets Better (With Comics)," moderated by Chris Shoemaker, a New York Public Library young adult programming specialist. In an effort to make comics with positive LGBT characters more widely available to teens, panelist Rica Takashima, creator of Rica 'tte Kanji (ALC, 2005), plans to make her book available for free online. It Despite the convention hall's Halloween-themed atmosphere, librarians were treated to familiar faces signing books for fans. Scott Westerfeld (left) was at the Simon & Schuster booth autographing Goliath (S&S, 2011), the final installment in his Leviathan steampunk trilogy. And Raina Telgemeirer was signing Nursery Rhyme Comics (First Second, 2011), a collection of familiar rhymes drawn by a collection of comic artists, including Jules Feiffer and George O'Connor. Next year's New York Comic Con is scheduled for October 11-14, 2012. This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe. Here are two slideshows from the show. To see captions, click on full screen and select "Show information." SLJ Goes to the 2011 NY Comic Con
Characters @ 2011 NY Comic Con:
To clarify, THE POWER WITHIN is available through Northwest Press, not
Prism Comics. Please check out http://thepowerwithin.org and click the
link to request copies by email for your school or youth group. Perhaps I am missing something but how is Amazon not a
licensed vendor? It feels like the issue Mendez may have
spoken about might not be accurately represented in the
article.
* = Required information
October 18, 2011
With the growing number of digital comics and graphic novels now available to readers in different formats and on a variety of platforms, Michael Maziekien (right), the head of reference at New Jersey's Rockaway Township Free Public Library, along with David Lisa (left), a consultant at the New Jersey State Library and graphic novelist specialist, led a program on "Digital Comics & Libraries. "Their focus? Whether digital comics would replace traditional comics and graphic novels. "There's a whole generation of people, especially digital natives, who've grown up around technology, that prefer reading comics on iPads and other tablet devices," Lisa says. "It's simple: print can't survive in an economy where people don't prefer it."
Spryo's Adventure, a new video game created by Toy Story writers, Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen, drew interest from more than 100 youngsters from the Children's Aid Society, a nonprofit organization that provides education services to underserved kids throughout New York City. Kids were treated to a special preview of the game, in which players embark on a fantastical journey into an amazing world while on a quest to save their world from Kaos, an evil Portal Master, who they must defeat.
features a lesbian college student looking for friendship in Tokyo. Charles "Zan" Christiansen also plans to make copies of his anti-bullying book, The Power Within (Northwest, 2011), available for free to schools and libraries that contact him.
Reader Comments (4)
Posted by on October 18, 2011 07:28:12PM
Posted by Zan Christensen on October 19, 2011 03:11:29PM
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