Throughout the semester, I will post about the articles and books that I read, as well as observations made through volunteering at the Monroe County Public Library and also through interactions with teen/YA readers through comic-cons, anime conventions, and other such venues.
- This weekend, I attended Matsuricon, and encountered a group of librarians who have created the Carolina Manga Library, an actual library of manga (Japanese comic and graphic novels) that travels from convention to convention. I liked their Facebook page and intend to interview the founding librarian for a research project. She said she would be glad to participate. The library had over 1,000 patrons at a convention with 4,500 attendees.
- This semester, I would like to establish a connection between the importance of the library as a "Third Place" without commercial obligation in this digital era where the importance of physical books and media is often questioned, and teen/YA services, which often make use of library space for meetings, resources, and learning space. Community groups' use of libraries as neutral spaces is crucial as physical resources disappear and diminish in importance. The role of access provider can be seen as switching from access to physical objects to access to virtual ones, and from gatekeeper to facilitator, instructor, and other roles.
