NYCC Offers Educator And Librarian-Themed Panels

Billing itself as "the East Coast's biggest and most exciting popular culture convention," this year's New York Comic Con — taking place October 13-16 at the Jacob K. Javitz Center in Midtown Manhattan — features a wide range of creator and entertainer appearances and signings, panels, film/TV screeings, and more (i.e., speed dating!). A number of the panels taking place at the convention will be of particular interest to librarians and educators, and Diamond BookShelf has put together a list of those panels here, including dates, times, and locations.

Panels are subject to change, and attendees can check the NYCC Events page for any last-minute updates.

Thursday, October 13

12 - 1 pm: Digital Comics & Libraries - Past, Present & Future — Digital comics and graphic novels are more available to readers than ever before and in different formats for a variety of platforms. Increasing numbers of major comics publishers are going to a "day and date structure" of publishing, which gives readers a choice of print and digital versions of newly released comics. What implications does this hold for libraries and comics readers that depend on libraries to provide them with their favorite story lines and graphic novels? David Lisa and Michael Maziekien will take a look at the history of digital comics, what's happening now and what the future might hold for cooperation between digital comics publishers and libraries.
Location: Room 1A03

12:15 - 1:15 pm: RWP 2.0 — The Future of Comics in the Classroom — Find out how YOU can help get comics into schools and get schools into comics in this informational seminar hosted by some of the biggest names in the world of comics and education. Join Josh Elder of Reading With Pictures, Dr. Michael Bitz of the Comic Book Project, Charlie LaGreca of Comic Book Classroom and Jessica Abel and Matt Madden of Drawing Words and Writing Pictures as they unveil their plans for 2012 and beyond.
Location: Room 1A02

1:15 pm - 2:15 pm: Video Game Collection Development for Libraries — Libraries, by definition, are collections of media. Librarians have terrific resources on building and maintaining material collections in various media such as books, movies, and music, however, there is a severe lack of information on how to build and maintain video game collections. This session will give attendees a solid foundation for starting and maintaining a video game collection, with a specific focus on collection development tools and budgeting. Issues raised include how to judge game content, 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, how schools and libraries can work together using gaming as a media tool, and sustaining the quality and relevance of game collections.
Location: Room 1A03

2:30 - 3:30 pm: National Gaming Day @ your library: Using Video Games and Comic Books as Library Outreach Tools — From sneakers to Hollywood blockbusters to the cover of Library Journal, the intellectual properties for gaming and comic companies are highly recognizable and can help us connect our materials collections to users and increase attendance numbers for programming. Join us as we share successful practices for marketing existing programs and collections, give bibliographies to build and increase recognizablity in materials collections, and tie our programs and collections together to add value to our users' experience.
Location: Room 1A03

3:45 pm - 4:45 pm: Graphic Novels and Libraries: Beyond the Basics — As graphic novels continue to enjoy wider representation and circulation in libraries around the country, new challenges and issues face librarians. This panel will delve into those concerns as well as explore new opportunities for libraries. Topics covered will include—but certainly not be limited to—digital strategies, increasing budgets for graphic novel collections, what to do when you start running out of shelf space, promoting the collection to adult patrons and nontraditional audiences (like teachers, homeschooling parents, and others), and much more.
Location: Room 1A03

Friday, October 14

12:15 - 1:15 pm: Reading With Pictures — Check out the latest from Reading With Pictures!
Location: Hasbro Stage

1:30 - 2:30 pm: The Comics History of the World — Views of world history in comics run from the imaginary to the tightly researched. They can inform and shed light on little known heroes and villains. Join Ben McCool (Nevsky), Fred Van Lente (Action Philosophers), Francesco Francavilla (The Black Coat) and more as they discuss the ins and out of making real life characters come alive on the comics page — and having a blast while doing it. The panel will include a sneak peak at next year's Nevsky graphic novel with never before seen artwork.
Location: Room 1A02

Saturday, October 15

3:45 - 4:45 pm: Celebrating 20 Years of Bone with Jeff Smith — Jeff Smith discusses the incredible journey of the Bone saga, which was named one of the Top 10 graphic novels of all time by Time magazine. Attendees will learn about the past, present, and future of this epic, bestselling graphic novel series. Dr. Katie Monnin, a professor at the University of North Florida and author of educational resource books about graphic novels and readers, will lead the conversation about the Bone series. Panelists include Jeff Smith, author and creator of Bone; Tom Sniegoski, author of Bone: Quest For the Spark, a trilogy of illustrated novels, and Tall Tales, a Bone companion; David Saylor, VP Creative Director and Editorial Director of the Graphix imprint of Scholastic; and Cassandra Pelham, Associate Editor for Scholastic Press and Graphix. This session will cover the beginnings of the Bone series in the underground comic book scene and its development into an internationally bestselling series. Panelists will also discuss what's next for Bone and what lies in store for its beloved characters. Attendees will receive a complimentary Bone tote bag!
Location: Room 1A23

4 - 5:30 pm: Comics Studies Conference 6: Understanding Comics and the Self — Neil Cohn (Tufts University) discusses several psychology experiments measuring reaction time and brainwaves that contribute to our understanding of what goes on in the brain when a person reads a comic and reveals that the understanding of comics involves a complex negotiation between a hierarchic system of narrative and the construction of meaning. CJ Suzuki (Lehigh University) focuses on the ways female Japanese comics creators (mangaka) employ shojo manga to critique, contest, and/or negotiate the hegemonic narratives and ideologies of the nation, gender/sexual normativity, and patriarchal social structure. Jeff Barbanell (Arizona State University) traces and deconstructs the transformation of Native American stereotypes and tropes in the comics medium to demonstrate how to work with elementary and secondary Native American literacy students, using the sequential visual medium of comics.
Location: Room 1B03

Sunday, October 16

10:45 - 11:45 am: MOCCA — Check out the latest from our friends at the Museum Of Comic and Cartoon Art!
Location: Room 1A15

3:45 pm - 4:45 pm: Classroom Lessons From the Comic Book Project — For over a decade, the Comic Book Project has helped over 100,000 children and youths to write, design, and publish original comic books. Project founder and director, Dr. Michael Bitz will present alongside students and teachers from New York City. This session will present classroom ideas and strategies through examples of student work. Help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Comic Book Project by bringing comics into the classroom! For more information about the Comic Book Project: www.ComicBookProject.org.
Location: Room 1A23

3:45 - 4:45 pm: Comic Book Fairs — Join a diverse group of panelists from across the comic book, education and nonprofit industries for a frank and educational discussion celebrating and appreciating the role of Archie comics in academia. Archie Comics Co-CEO and former teacher Nancy Silberkleit leads a panel that includes David Rojas (Archie Education) to discuss how schools can adopt comics in the classroom, how to create comic book-oriented lesson plans, student-created comic book projects and what Archie Education has planned.
Location: Room 1A03

For tickets and more information, visit the New York Comic Con web site.