Week 8: 12 Hour Comics Day!

While most of this week was spent at the reference desk answering questions and helping with computers and printing, the 12 Hour Comics Day on Thursday was a breath of fresh air. The program was a collaboration between the children's and teen departments. It was geared towards an age range of 10-20 year olds. The object of the program was to expose kids and teens to the graphic novel section of the library and to encourage their creativity.

This was the 5th year in a row for the program, so the two librarians had the plan for the day down pretty well. When attendees first walked in, they signed in and were given a quick orientation. Tables to work at had been set up with pencils, markers, blank paper, and comic layout paper. Another table housed selections from the library's graphic novel collection as well as how-to-draw books for inspiration. For every comic finished the child or teen could pick a comic book to take home (provided by the sponsor Vintage Phoenix Comic Books). The finished comics were scanned into the computer and later added to a gallery on the library's website. Buttons of recognition were handed out to attendees for every 3 hours they were present at the program. Lunch and dinner were also provided as part of the program. 

I assisted with orientation, button making, and scanning. Mainly though, I supervised comic creation. I helped some of the younger kids with story ideas and explained how comics needed to have a beginning, middle, and end. Comics and graphic novels are subjects I'm passionate about, so I really enjoyed helping and seeing kids get excited about them too.

Tip of the Week: If you are passionate about something kids and teens can tell. They can also tell if you're not excited about a subject. Both lethargy and excitement are infectious, so try to find something to be excited about even if the overall topic isn't your favorite.

Article Annotation and Abstract Area

Battle, Paige. "Picturing Teen Read Week The School Library." Young Adult Library Services 9.4 (2011): 4-6. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 June 2012.

This article provides multiple booklists and activities for teens designed to relate to the theme of "Picture it @ Your Library." The booklists range in topic from books that were made into movies, to graphic novels, to art books. While some of the activities are specific to the visual art theme, many are general enough to be used in other programming. Book review podcasts and photo strip bookmarks being examples of the latter.