In what multiverse could you find Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, Pokemon, and the Na’vi together? On Saturday, May 30, that multiverse would be the Patchogue-Medford Library, which hosted their first Comic-Con style event named Pop Con.
Over 500 people attended and the event was part of a new initiative conceived by the library’s community engagement team for adult-forward programs geared towards patrons in their 20s and 30s. Pop Con did have activities and attractions for all ages, even without being marketed as family-friendly.
“Events tend to skew towards small children. If there is something for the adult, a lot of programs require you to have a child present with you. I felt out of place myself as I was scouting other events doing research for this event when some of them clearly were more for children and I was alone as an adult attendee. There’s also a growing shift in adults who don’t have children for one reason or another, so I wanted to make sure the event was accessible for them,” said Amber Mercado of the library’s promotions and development/community engagement team.
The focus on the 20s to 30s age group began because of a paucity in library service and utilization following robust engagement as small children and teenagers.
“Some dedicated readers may take books out or use some services here and there, but largely adults come back when they have kids to show their kids the library and attend programs with them, and then again when they reach retirement age and have free time or need help as a senior. However, our team—and not just us there are libraries all over Suffolk trying this, too—wishes to reach younger adults, too, especially those who maybe haven’t been to a library in a while and haven’t seen how we’ve grown and changed over the year,” said Mercado.
Mercado, who is turning 30 this year, said many in that age range are looking for community space to meet and connect with others. With the rising cost of living, traditional activities like going to a restaurant are also priced out for mass engagement.
“An additional challenge is that some in this age group tend to be digital users only; they don’t come to the library. They might not be aware of the wide variety of free resources the library offers now. Our team at the library comes up with programing designed to appeal to this group that will draw them out and always try incorporate time to educate them about additional resources during the event,” said Mercado.
One idea was the “Nostalgia Night Series,” a throwback fandom night, usually in association with a local bar or restaurant. Another was a concert where a demonstration of the Makerspace was introduced to the audience.
“We showed people who were in that indie DIY music scene how to make things for their small band affordably. We did an educational program that was a panel with professional tattoo artists asking them questions about their profession and art for the evening,” said Mercado.
During Pop Con, a Pokémon stamp game, where attendees go around and collect stamps from various stations around the event, with each station connected back to a library resource, was popular.
Source: - Latest Stories
