Lemme Con You - Anime/Comic Cons in Libraries

(This is a very basic overview, pulled over from what I wrote for an entry in YALSA HQ.)

Anime, comic book, and fandom conventions have been steadily growing in popularity. Big-name cons are able to book huge guests, rent out large spaces, and have three to four days’ worth of programming – but they also tend to cost a good deal of money, both in tickets to the event and other items like transport and lodging. Smaller one or two day cons at libraries and other public venues have also been growing in popularity.

My library lucked out – I am on staff for a 10,000+ attendee convention in the area, and my best friend volunteers for the same convention, and we both volunteer for other conventions in the area. We also both help run a group of people who love making interactive panels, one of several staples at a con. So we had a lot of resources and knowledge of how a con worked ready to give to our library – and now I want to share what I know.

Definitely pick and choose. I am sharing way too much for a first-time con, but that’s because each con is configured a little differently. Pick out what works best for your venue, staff, and attendees. Also, this is a bit long. I am breaking it up into things to bear in mind behind the scenes, tips for good management and keeping your wits about you, and content for the convention, from staples of cons to panel ideas.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Collaboration – Partnering is fairly essential to a good convention. This can be partnering with a local con, comic or anime shop, or even an anime club. See if there are groups that perform a lot at cons in the area and ask if they would like to perform there. We have a group called the Con Artists that I helped to found and we love going to various places to put on our panels. Try reaching out to the nearest anime convention. They may have goodies for you, they can (hopefully) offer some expert advice, and if you offer to have flyers for their con, it makes for a nice reciprocal relationship.
Volunteers – These are the backbone of ANY convention. You probably need more volunteers than you originally think. We had a sheet for the different places we needed volunteers and two-hour blocks covering the time for setup, the actual con, and takedown. Categories we had were: information table, check-in/weapons check, panel room overseers, vendor room walkers, and floaters. We tried to have at least two people in each category for each timeslot. Then we also had several volunteers for running the panels and that sort of thing. What you’ll need will vary based on what you wind up having at your con – but always know that you want some floaters who can fill in anywhere and run little errands for people!
Wristbands/Badges – You may want to simply count the number of attendees you have, or you may want to have them get something “official” to be able to go into the “convention areas.” Even if you aren’t charging for the event (and especially if you are), having something tangible can make the attendee feel more like they are at a big convention, and if you have something you give them, you have something you can take away if anyone is breaking the rules. We bought a big box of wristbands for not much money that had the name of our convention (ACEcon) on them. It makes counting attendees SUPER easy.
Rules – You need these. They don’t have to be super complex, but you need them. From the common sense (treat everyone with respect) to any issues you foresee (make sure to address photography and whatever your rules are on that) to policies for weapons and costumes (how revealing can they get – we use state laws as our guiding point, but each con handles it a little differently). It is in the rules that you reserve the right to kick out anyone from the con that breaks a rule. We have small print-outs of the rules, and back when we made a con guide pamphlet, they were in there as well. We also had a poster-size printout of the rules that we kept behind check-in. Anyone who checked in and was let into the area with the convention was told they were agreeing to the rules and had a chance to read them. This is a copy of our set of rules, if you want something to base it on. It involves our own version of weapons check, but this is another subject that varies based on what you and your library are comfortable with.
Advertising – Advertising can run a huge gamut, from press releases to flyers to hand out to Facebook ads. We tried professionally printed flyers once and went back to printing in-house. It really comes down to what you can afford to spend. We did not have a lot of luck with Facebook ads, but another library con in our county had huge success with it. Trial, error, and what you’re comfortable with is kind of my mantra for cons in general, as they have to grow and adapt to your population, but you probably also already have some kind of advertising plans in place.
Food – If you won’t be having a full-day event, food is not an issue. However, if you’re running during lunch or dinner time, consider having something to cover food options. The first year, we made a list of nearby food options and gave it out at the information desk – but people really don’t want to leave and come back! The following year, we had hot dogs and hamburgers for purchase along with drinks and chips. At the college campus, they had several food trucks come out. This is a great alternative to having catering or something.
Schedule – You want your schedule ready ahead of time. We had ours nailed down about a month ahead of time and made a flyer out of it and posted it to social media and gave it to anyone advertising for us. This is very important because attendees will want to know when they should be there, what time they should plan to have lunch, and possibly even the best time to change costumes (even if you have a short convention – I once did eight costume changes over a 10AM to midnight day at a con). Attendees like to plan. And those who don’t will still want to see some kind of schedule when they arrive, so make sure you have some at an information table. We have done mini "con-guides" in the past.
Information Table – You need some central place with the con’s schedule. You may also want flyers from other local conventions, information about your library, maybe even forms to fill out for a library card in case someone doesn’t have one! You should also brief anyone working the table about any information people might want to know, like how long the con will last, where every part of the con is, what the food options are, a refresher on the rules, anything that you think might come up. Make an FAQ to make it easier for your volunteers.

CONTENT

Panels! – These can be informative (“X-Men and Minorities”), teach a skill (“Learn Origami”), easy discussions (“Find a New Favorite Game”), interactive (“Pokémon Snap,” which is the next bullet point), gameshows (check out “Anime Jeopardy” here for an example) or just fun (“Ask the Avengers”). Panels can be put on by staff or volunteers with the library, or you can reach out to the community for ideas and help. (I might be a little biased putting this first – my job at my local convention is panel coordinator.)
Example: Live-Action Pokémon Snap – This has been especially popular with the 20th anniversary of the franchise. It’s also really easy! Get volunteers to dress up as Pokémon (look up “Pokémon gijinka” for ideas) and then have them go to various parts of the library/location. Tell the players the rules (they have to show photos, have three pantomimed props – pester balls that make Pokémon angry, pokéfood that makes Pokémon friendly, and pokéflute that makes Pokémon sleep or dance), and then have them go out and take photos! The interactions are a lot of fun, and then someone judges the photos and hands out prizes!
Performances – These are a bit more in-depth than most panels. You can, again, reach out to folks in the community. I’ve had a parkour school come out in superhero costumes to demonstrate different parkour and circus techniques. This year we have a group of teens who do dance covers coming out for a twenty-minute performance. I’ve written an interactive My Little Pony show that was a of fun. See what volunteers might like to do, or what kinds of shows local cons put on.
Vendors/Artists’ Alley – This is another huge draw of most conventions. If you have the space, consider making a dedicated area for people selling things. Reach out to any stores in the area and see if they would consider running a table at your con. We offered free tables because we were not sure of the draw. All the business had to do was agree to mention our library or have flyers. Ask around, you probably know one or two crafters. Another great place to find artists and vendors is Etsy. Search the website for stores based out of locations near you and message them.
Photobooth – This is a really popular part of our con. We make posterboard props over the course of the year with our anime club, putting on sticks anything from anime sweatdrops to Luffy’s hat to Batman’s mask. This year we’re putting up a green screen to photoshop kids into different anime backgrounds! Photography is a big part of cosplaying, so see also if you know any local photographers who would be willing to lend their time and talent to your con, or see if you can budget for one.
Costume Contest – Okay, real quick, going to go over the fact that “costume contest” “cosplay contest” and “masquerade” can all be synonymous or TOTALLY different events depending on the con you go to. I work for a con that has a separate masquerade (literally a masked dance), but that sometimes means costume contest. Many Florida cons have a costume contest, focused on craftsmanship of costumes, and a cosplay contest, focused on performance pieces in costumes, while other cons combine those. The costume contest is a staple, but if you include performance awards, too, it can be a lot of fun! Cosplayers love to show off what they’ve done, and they work hard on their costumes throughout the year.
Dance Party – There are few things as fun and simple as a good dance party! Turn down some lights, power up some speakers, and make an anime opening playlist, and get out on the dance floor. Dollar stores sell some fun glowsticks, too, which make any dance party better.
AMVs – Anime Music Videos have kind of slid down from their heyday, but they’re still a lot of fun. They make great background noise and images, or you can run a contest based on them. Running a program before the con to teach basic video editing skills gives kids and teens a good skill base, and the contest may have a large draw.
Video Gaming – If you have any kind of game setups in your library, consider getting them into a single room for the con! A video game room is a staple at many conventions. We often run Super Smash Bros. tournaments at our con, and the last year we had it at the college, they rented a mobile gaming center (this big truck that comes with arcade games and consoles inside). It was a huge hit.
Tabletop Gaming – I am a huge advocate for tabletop role-playing games (like ) and board games. I always have some out at any excuse I get, which includes anytime we run the con. Having a room with any board games or RPGs you have around gives a place for friends to hang out, for people to make new friends, and for the fans who are a bit shyer but love to play.
Social Games – A good party game is always a good time! There are some games that come from anime that are fun to play (the game Fruits Basket was made very popular by the manga of the same title) and other games that can be easily made into anime or comic themes (like charades or Pictionary). These are great for fans of all ages and an easy, low-cost way to engage a lot of fans all at once.
Guests – This is a section that I don’t have a lot of practical knowledge of, since guests are outside my department at the con I work at and we’ve never tried to get one for the library con here. But I’ve seen Free Comic Book Day events get local comic book artists and there are often talents about near your area! This is definitely a case of “it can’t hurt to ask” even if chances are slim, so if you have someone around, go for it!
Crafts – This is something not often seen at larger cons but I’ve seen work great at smaller library cons. If you already have someone who likes doing crafts for programs, see if they’ll run one for the con! Pinterest will have you covered, and the attendees can walk away with something fun and something they can’t find at a larger con.

EVALUATION

After every convention, you definitely want to take some time to see how things went and if you want to go bigger next year, stay the same, or go smaller. And there’s nothing wrong with any of those options!

There are several other free anime cons in our area, and a number of big, paid-for cons in our area. (Florida is kind of crawling with anime and comic conventions, really.) We have partnered in the past with a nearby college, but they withdrew last year. After spending a bit of time and money promoting last year to see no increase in attendance, we have decided to scale down. We had about half the number of attendees, but about one fifth of the cost and much less staff time. It was an enjoyable niche event (we had three vendors, a dance party, AMVs, party games, costume contest, and a dance group come out with Love-Live dance covers) that was something we could handle while also fulfilling the want for a free, small con in our area.

There is no one correct answer. The first year will have issues. The fifth year will have issues. Just keep adapting each year to response back from your attendees (be that from word-of-mouth, a youth advisory board volunteering for you, or surveys at the end of the event) and make the event that your library needs.

One of the best things you can do is find a local convention and see how they run. If there is not one nearby, research conventions in your state and find contact information. Most convention staff members that I know are always up for answering some questions, and you may even find some partnership opportunities. Looking at websites for other cons are the best “extra resources” you can find.

Again, remember that there are a lot of great ideas for cons out there. Mix and match until you find what works for your venue!

If you want to know about any of these items more in-depth, let me know and I’ll work on making a blog post about it!

#anime #comics #convention #cons #largeevent