5 Fun Facts about Comic Cons on the Digital Bookmobile Tour

Kapow! The Digital Bookmobile made two stops at Comic Cons in 2018. Looking for new ways to spread #EbookLove, the Digital Bookmobile teamed up with Dover Public Library in Dover, DE and Samuels Public Library in Front Royal, VA to participate in their comic conventions!

Comic cons are events where fans, creators, and experts come together to cover comic books, television shows, movies, and other forms of mainstream art and fiction. They even attract cosplayers (people who dress up in costume). Everyone from Pennywise, the Dancing Clown in IT to the Potter family in Harry Potter were seen walking around.

The best part, these fans love to read! Parked near the library at both events, the Digital Bookmobile invited visitors of all ages to explore their library’s ebook, audiobook, and even graphic novel collections.

Below are 5 fun facts about the Comic Cons the Digital Bookmobile visited this year:

1. These Comic Cons were FREE to the public! It’s common for a Comic Con to charge a fee for visitors, but since Dover Comic Con was hosted by Dover Public Library and SamiCon was hosted by Samuels Public Library, entrance to the festivals were free (with the help of sponsors).
2. The theme at SamiCon was “Fantastic Books and Where to Find Them,” a play off J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”.
3. We tried butter beer! A delicious wizard drink found in Harry Potter books was made available at SamiCon. Don’t worry, there was no alcohol here, just root beer, caramel syrup, and whipped cream.
4. Dover Comic Con was started by Dover Public Library in 2013 as a way to help promote their graphic novel collection to teens. Since then, Dover Comic Con has quickly grown from 120 teens to over 10,000 attendees of all ages.
5. There was more than one truck at Dover Comic Con. Mobile exhibits were popular in Dover, DE, and we were joined by the Mobile Adventure Escape Room Truck, the Pirate Empire, and the Mobile Cloud Video Game Party Truck. But let’s not forget the coolest of them all (pun intended), the Digital Bookmobile!

Our hope is that more people become aware of their library’s digital collection, and that they consider looking for a title on Libby the next time they search for a good read. Boom!