Niles West’s library hosted its first Library-Con on Friday, Jan. 24 with guest speakers Tyler Feder, Jeffrey Brown and Lucy Knisley.
Library-Con is an event that many public libraries do meant to celebrate pop culture, books and comics. The idea to host one at Niles West came from Niles West librarian Kelly Stallard who had the idea to do this after seeing that many public libraries host their own Library-Con. Stallard thought it would be fun for students to have something to look forward to and change up their day a little.
“It’s just something that a lot of public libraries do and I’ve always been a bit envious. It’s just a really fun event and I’m someone who likes going to these types of events. It’s just like a fun thing so I wanted to bring that here to our student population, especially with kids, because this isn’t always something that you’re able to go and do and also be able to go and have a little bit of fun in the day,” Stallard said.
There were many different things you could do at Library-Con. Students participated in the second annual pipe cleaner challenge and were able to vote for their favorite creation. Activities included Nintendo switches, card games, board games and mini stations from local public libraries. Also, artwork from students and local artists was displayed throughout the library.
“A lot of kids are playing games…button making has been a huge success. I think a lot of students are excited to make buttons and the switch gaming in the study room has been the most popular which is not surprising,” Niles West librarian Elise Byun said.
Many students listened to the guest speakers. Students, typically attending with their classes, went to the meeting rooms to listen to authors and comics to learn what inspired them, their writing process, how they created books and why they write. One author, Lucy Knisley, spoke about her graphic novels.
“So far, it’s been great. We had some authors speaking and we had classes come to hear the author speak and I listened to the Lucy Knisley presentation and I was really moved by it that I almost cried. She shared a lot of her personal stories and I found that to be very… she’s just a very thoughtful author and I really enjoyed it,” Byun said.
Feder is a local and attended Northwestern University. As many comics do, Feder started her career by posting her art online.
“I feel like authenticity is really big for me. When I first started making art and putting it on Tumblr, I was trying to move things that I thought people would like…but I think the more I make art, the more I realize how it is something that matters to me. The art turns out the best that way, and it’s best able to connect me with other people,” Feder said
She is the author of many books, including “Bodies Are Cool” and “Dancing at the Pity Party,” her debut graphic novel about grieving and healing after her mom’s death.
“You’re not going to run out of ideas. That’s something that I get scared of a lot. But as life keeps happening to you, you keep thinking of more things to make art out of. If you feel like things are stuck and you’re not getting the audience that you want, or you just have to keep making more things, it’ll eventually come up,” Feder said.
