CBLDF’s webinar series is intended to provide practical advice, strategies, and resources to help educators and librarians include comics-based curriculum and programming into their classrooms and libraries and to help comics retailers better serve their communities. Below you will find descriptions and links to register for upcoming webinars as well as recordings of our past webinars.
CBLDF 2020 RETAILER TRAINING WEBINAR SERIES
More than ever, schools and libraries are eager to include comics in their collections and programming, and no one is better positioned to help them navigate the landscape than comic book retailers! Learn the secrets of selling comics to schools and libraries in this information packed webinar series by Jennifer Haines! Unlike box stores and online retailers, comic books stores do more than simply deliver a product; they are a hub of their community. Developing community-facing events and services can give your store a leg up in the current retail environment.
In this five-part retailer training webinar series, we’ll show you:
- How to develop relationships with local schools & libraries
- How to identify and promote the services your store can offer
- How to use academic language to communicate the pedagogical value of comics
- How to incorporate store incentives to boost student visits
- How to create activities that will engage students
Every retailer will receive a certificate of completion for each webinar they complete. In addition, we’ll include your store in our list of CBLDF Certified Retailers, which we provide online and include in our educator and librarian publications.
Part 1: Connecting with Schools & Libraries — Monday, March 30, 2020 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm PST
In this introduction webinar, Jenn provides an overview of how retailers can connect with schools and libraries in their communities, the types of services educators and librarians would find useful, and the types of incentives and activities that will bring students into your store.
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
Part 2: Completing a Book Order — Saturday, April 25, 2020 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm PST
In this second webinar, Jen outlines the best practices for completing a school order. She will take you through the process of consulting with a librarian and putting together a book order. Using examples from orders she has put together this year, she’ll show you how to figure out what a library needs based on its existing collection, budget, and goals, at both the elementary and high school levels.
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
Part 3: Conducting Workshops — Saturday, May 23, 2020 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm PST
What goes into an educational workshop for students? In this third edition of our webinar series with Jennifer Haines, she provides more information about/best practices for conducting workshops in school and library settings. Jen will show you how to construct workshops on the topics of graphic imagery and comics history, for both elementary and high school levels. This will include what sort of content to include, how to engage the students, and tips on how to keep students focused during the presentation.
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
Part 4: Running a Book Fair — Monday, June 22, 2020 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm PST
In this webinar, Jenn Haines outlines the logistics and best practices for running book fairs, including how to make contact with schools, how schedule the event, how to run sales, and what to pack.
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
Part 5: Introducing Comic Studies — Saturday, June 18, 2020 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm PST
As a trained teacher, Jenn Haines has not only used comics in the classroom, but also written several teacher guides for graphic novels. In the last of her training webinars, Jen discusses some specific comic study activities retailers could easily take into schools, libraries, or after school programs. Not only will she discuss some of the types of activities and assessments you can do with comics, but she will also review how these activities align with various teaching requirements.
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
Jennifer Haines is owner of The Dragon, an award-winning comics and games store headquartered in Guelph, Ontario. She is also ComicsPRO Vice-President and a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. With over ten years experience as an educator and extensive knowledge of comics, Ms. Haines is in a unique position to help comic retailers build a school client base.
EDUCATOR & LIBRARIAN WEBINARS
Sequencing the Female Self: Teaching Personal History through Graphic Novels —
Saturday, March 28, 2020 @ 12:00 pm — 1:00 pm PST
Graphic novels focusing on the female experience are among the most frequently banned and challenged – how can educators use these valuable stories in the classroom and overcome challenges? This webinar gathers experts to look at important works and strategies to integrate them into your lessons.
Examining frequently challenged works like Drama by Raina Telgemeier, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, our panel of comics creators, publishers, and educators will discuss teaching techniques for including these works in your classroom and strategies to navigate any resistance you may face when doing so. As a thank you, each webinar participant will receive a handout of relative CBLDF resources and a reading list of titles to help you get started.
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
A Sequential Approach to Social Justice: Using Comics to Teach Social Issues —
Saturday, April 18, 2020 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm PST
Comics are a terrific tool for teaching citizenship, social justice, and the value of free expression. This panel presents proven strategies for using comics to engage students with real world issues, including title suggestions, lesson planning tips, and strategies to overcome resistance to teaching these valuable topics. As a thank you for attending, each webinar participant will receive CBLDF curriculum resources for titles that focus on social justice issues.
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
Developing a Classroom Collection 101: Addressing Barriers to Comics —
Saturday, May 23, 2020 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm PST
Do you want to develop a comics and graphic novel collection for your classroom or library, but don’t know where to start? Do you need help expanding an existing collection? This webinar will give you the tools you need to solve these problems. Even though comics are an increasingly popular format, their benefits are still misunderstood by many administrators and decision-makers, and often these misunderstandings create hurdles for teachers and librarians wanting to develop a graphic novel collection for their classroom or library.
Join CBLDF and a panel of librarians, educators, and publishers to learn how you can navigate the challenges associated with developing and curating a comics collection, including ways to address enduring stigmas about the pedagogical validity of the medium and challenges to the visual components of the medium. This webinar will offer practical advice, strategies, and resources to help you advocate the value of comics in educational settings and overcome barriers to using this incredible medium!
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
Take PRIDE in Comics: The Best Comics For Celebrating PRIDE —
Saturday, June 6, 2020 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm PST
Celebrate Pride with comics! Join CBLDF and a panel of educators and creators for a discussion of the best LGBTQ+ comics, the intellectual freedom challenges they frequently face, and how to overcome those challenges. We’ll explore how identity censorship is affecting creators, readers and teachers; positive approaches to integrating diverse content; and a PRIDE reading challenge to get your community’s summer off to a fabulous start!
To register for this webinar, click HERE.
PREVIOUS WEBINARS
Retailing to Schools & Libraries— For this CBLDF retailer training webinar, we asked Jennifer Haines, owner of The Dragon, an award-winning comics and games store headquartered in Guelph, Ontario to discuss the best practices for developing relationships with local schools and libraries. Ms. Haines is ComicsPRO Vice-President and a member of the Ontario College of Teachers; with over ten years experience as an educator and extensive knowledge of comics, she is in a unique position to help comic retailers see comics from a pedagogical perspective. In her presentation, Ms.Haines discusses the services best suited for school and library settings, the best incentives to offer for boosting student reading, and the best activities for promoting student engagement.
For more about the CBLDF Certified Retailers who participated in this training and are CBLDF Certified to Work with Schools and Libraries, click here.
Teaching Tolerance & Understanding with Gene Luen Yang— We kicked off our webinar series for educators and librarians with a discussion between Gene Luen Yang, the National Book Award-nominated author of American Born Chinese, and Betsy Gomez, the Banned Books Week Coalition coordinator and editor of CBLDF’s book about the women who changed free expression in comics, CBLDF Presents: She Changed Comics. In this webinar, Yang draws from his career as a celebrated author, ambassador, and teacher to address how comics can help students attain a broader view of the world and spark a lifelong love of reading and how teachers and librarians can respond to challenges to comics and overcome barriers to using them.
Take PRIDE in Comics: The Challenges Facing LGBTQ+ Content— In celebration of PRIDE month, we asked a panel of creators, educators, librarians, and retailers to discuss the challenges facing LGBTQ+ comics. During this informative session, cartoonist Paige Braddock, the Eisner-nominated creator of Jane’s World; historian, educator, and creator Justin Hall, the editor of award-winning anthology No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics; librarian and activist Valerie Acklin, a member of the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT); and retailer Katie Proctor, the owner of Portland, Oregon’s inclusive comic book store, Books With Pictures, discuss the history of censorship of LGBTQ+ comics, why LGBTQ+ comics are an important part of any library or classroom collection, and what we can do to defend LGBTQ+ content from censors.
Developing a Classroom Collection 101: Addressing Barriers to Comics— Do you want to develop a comics and graphic novel collection for your classroom or library, but don’t know where to start? Do you need help expanding an existing collection? Even though comics are an increasingly popular format, their benefits are still misunderstood by many administrators and decision-makers, and often these misunderstandings create hurdles for teachers and librarians wanting to develop a graphic novel collection for their classroom or library. Join CBLDF and a panel of comics creators and educators to learn how you can navigate the challenges associated with developing and curating a comics collection, including ways to address enduring stigmas about the pedagogical validity of the medium and challenges to the visual components of the medium. This webinar will offer practical advice, strategies, and resources to help you advocate the value of comics in educational settings and overcome barriers to using this incredible medium!
Using Comics in the Classroom: Practical Tools for Developing Curriculum— Although comics are an incredible tool for engaging students in the classroom, the educational benefits of this medium are still unknown to many teachers, administrators, and parents. Join CBLDF and a panel of creators and teachers to learn how comics can be used to enhance learning and encourage student participation. Get real-world suggestions for integrating comics into your curriculum, from expanding lesson plans to include comic-based activities to developing units devoted to the study of the medium.
Addressing Identity Censorship— Identity censorship is the most frequent form of intellectual freedom challenge in today’s environment. From moral panic about Drag Queen Story Hour to frequent challenges to LGBTQ+ comics, books, and authors, this disturbing trend is gaining traction. CBLDF engages a panel of experts to help you identify and intelligently address this growing problem. In the past year, CBLDF has participated in defending challenges and bans of books solely because they contain LGBTQ+ characters, curriculum rejected because it focused on LGBTQ+ titles, and community programs canceled solely because program participants identify as LGBTQ+. In this webinar, we will speak with individuals who’ve been on the front lines of this issue to identify the contours of the problem and discuss strategies for managing it. In addition to receiving CBLDF’s “Fighting Identity Censorship Toolkit,” all webinar participants are invited to share their own stories and receive face-to-face expert advice on managing identity censorship issues.
Panelists:
Lilah Sturges is a New York Times Bestselling writer whose works include the Prism Award-winning Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass, The Magicians: Alice’s Story, and numerous titles for DC Comics and other publishers. She lives in Austin, Texas with two teenage daughters and two cats.
John Spears, Chief Librarian, and CEO of Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs, CO.
Using Comics to Teach Tough Topics—Many educators and librarians feel raising social awareness is an important educational objective, but helping young audiences come to terms with the difficult topics and complex concepts associated with social awareness can be challenging. Comics and graphic novels are great tools for addressing tough social issues like bullying, abuse, suicide, and racism; however, graphic novels and other books that depict tough topics may encounter resistance from parents, administrators, and even fellow teachers. Join CBLDF and a panel of comics creators, publishers, retailers, and educators to learn how comics are a powerful tool for helping young people understand the more difficult parts of growing up. In this program, we will present fresh ideas for using comics to teach social justice, identity, and freedom of expression; suggest titles that address the tough topics affecting young people, including discrimination, bullying, racism, and disability; and provide strategies for addressing the challenges that may arise when incorporating these comics into course curriculum.
Managing Media—Comic book stores are the industry’s front line, which often makes their employees the first people local media turns to when a comic book story comes up – the good ones as well as the bad and the ugly. This CBLDF webinar provides practical best practices for how to manage media situations, including how to take control of hostile situations, proactive steps to establish good community outreach, and procedures every store should have in place for media communications and outreach. Panelists include Jacq Cohen, Executive Director of Marketing, Publicity, and Promotions, Fantagraphics; Mitch Cutler, Owner, St. Marks Comics; Alex Segura, Co-President, Archie Comics; and Seina Fallon, Media/Comm Director, NC Comicon.