Cosplay in Libraries: How to Embrace Costume Play in Your Library

by Ellyssa Kroski

Cosplay, comics, anime, and geek culture have exploded into the mainstream over recent years and have resulted in a thriving community of costume enthusiasts and pop culture fans. Today’s cosplayers find inspiration on the pages of comics, classic literature, and even history, as well as film, television, and video games to inform their creative and oftentimes elaborate ensembles. They utilize all manner of materials and techniques including 3D printers, thermoplastics, craft foam, fabric and more to design their costumes and props.

Libraries on the leading edge are already embracing this new worldwide sensation by integrating cosplay into their programming and events. Learn all about the world of cosplay and how you can host cosplay events, workshops, makerspaces, clubs, and more in your library!

This one-stop guide includes quotes and interviews with librarians who are incorporating cosplay into their programming as well as with cosplayers. You’ll also find 32 full-color photographs of cosplay in action to give you both ideas and inspiration for getting started!

Genres: Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2015

About the author

Ellyssa Valenti Kroski is the Director of Innovation & Engagement at the New York Law Institute as well as an award-winning editor and author of 77 books. She is a librarian, an adjunct faculty member at San Jose State University, and an international conference speaker. She can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/author/ellyssa and https://ellyssakroski.com/

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I'm a rural librarian who has been lucky enough to be able to attend several large-scale conventions and cosplay regularly since about 2009. When I graduated from college and was promoted in my job, one of the first things I wanted to drum up interest in was anime, comics, and cosplay. ...Needless to say, it hasn't been easy.

This book was pretty much exactly what was promised and I'm pleased to say that I got more than couple of ideas from it (Murder by Candlelight sounds like SO much fun!). However, I'm a rural librarian...and lot of these plans are for not-so-rural libraries. I'm hoping I can adjust them slightly to fit our community, so we'll see.

My only other nitpick with the book was that it's a LOT of text for a nonfiction book about a very visual hobby. I realize part of this was probably due to costs while printing. But honestly, a more text-book style with the photos inserted when they're being discussed, or a box with the instructions for the mentioned game would have been nicer than having to flip to the end of the book.

The book also includes a lot of links for Facebook pages, which is the nature of social media of course. However, I wonder how many of those pages are still going to be updated or even existent in three to five years? Luckily, me being who I am, I don't particularly have use for them, but I'm sure other librarians who are not as nerdily inclined as I am might.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title describes the contents of this book really well. It is all about how libraries can have events which include cosplay. There are very detailed annotated resources lists, and almost step by step guides for different kinds of event planning (for example 'host a comic or anime con in your library', 'how to host a cosplay contest'). These lists would give a new event planner, or an event planner new to cosplay events, a lot of confidence. The helpful event planning information would be relevant for other events as well.

There are some excellent examples of how some public libraries in the USA have been working with cosplay as events or part of events with detailed information about costs, number of participants, information about the events, and links to sites like the Facebook page for the event. I really like the way information about evaluation is included, and the costs provided by libraries allow other libraries an estimate of what to expect (generally staffing costs are not listed in the budgets provided).

This is also a book which can serve as an excellent introduction to cosplay, and the etiquette, protocols and other considerations. It is also a very interesting read. You might like to think about cosplay for your library.

[(Jen) The Artist Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sounds right up my alley ... I'm both a cosplayer/costumer and *future* librarian. If only it weren't so expensive! I hope to take a look at it soon. =)

Edit: My school rejected my ILL request, but got me access to an e-book copy! Reflection review below, full review to come!

A practical guide to creating cosplay related programming in your library. Includes an overview of cosplay, common tools and materials used in costume creation, how to find cosplayers, brief profiles of well-known cosplayers, and detailed programming plans (many of which are based on actual programming run by librarians). Though perhaps most relevant to public libraries, several of the programming event examples were put together by academic librarians and ran at college libraries.

Perfect for librarians totally new to the concept of cosplay, it is also worth a look for those already involved in the community. The only criticism for local librarians is perhaps the price ($50 retail for the paperback) and that none of the supplier, cosplayer, or photographer directories include contacts for my state.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a lot more text-heavy than I would have liked, and the text wasn't as useful as I would have hoped. I was expecting examples of programs, but this book was almost entirely examples of programs. Many of them only work if you have a convention or bigger cosplay or convention event close to you. There were very few examples in the form of photos, which would have been better, in my opinion, at sparking ideas for programs in your own library space. Finally, I would have like to have a lot more "how to" create cosplay at a high-quality level. There are a lot of books out there about making costumes with cardboard boxes. It would have been nice to see how libraries could use and teach some of the more advanced techniques of cosplay. Teaching costume design and craft can go a long way to building a cosplay community in your city or town. Ultimately, this wasn't a terrible book, and if you've never done cosplay yourself, it might be a good resource to help you understand what it's all about.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a teen librarian, programming specialist, or want to further enhance the offerings of your library, check this out! Was a very fun and informative read. BTW, if you're worried about not being able to afford it, there's ideas in there. If you're worried it isn't a justifiable endeavor, it really ties in with S.T.E.A.M./S.T.E.M. check it out!

[Raechel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great ideas for how to cosplay at the library.