Want to bring Library Con to your library? Learn how our library held a full day, system-wide library con across three locations. We’ll share our strategy for working with community partners to offer LARP demonstrations, Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs, cosplay demos and miniature painting, a costume contest, and an outdoor movie night. All of this and more to engage new library patrons while highlighting services, programs and collections.
Date Recorded: 2/11/2026
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Caele Pemberton, Head of Marketing and Community Engagement and Ben Rutz, Digital Media Coordinator / Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
Learn how our library works closely with community partners to bring fun adventures to our patrons. By working closely with our local game shop, toy store, comic book store, volunteer GMs, a local brewery (the list could go on and on), we’re able to provide an array of fun events related to gaming, filmmaking and more. These events bring new users to the library who sometimes have never set foot inside before. Find out how we make it work and strategies we suggest to work with partners in your community.
In parts 
The Fort Ben Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library was given the opportunity to become a Certified Autism Center through the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) in 2023 when the branch first opened. Branch Manager, Shelby Peak, and Children’s Librarian, Sarah Tadsen, both disability advocates in their community, will share Fort Ben’s story of pursuing accreditation and the impact this process has had on the branch staff, the local community, and the entire IndyPL system.
Hear about the programs that have influenced one library’s community, including diversifying collections, creating spaces for different age groups, implementing food security programs, getting outside of library walls, implementing 24-hour book pickup, and offering take-home crafts, all on a small budget in a small building. You’ll look at how some of the programs were planned and work together as a team to share successful programs and identify other ways to make big changes with small adjustments.
