Toronto might get a comic book library
Comic lovers might soon have their very own library branch to cozy up with their favourite comic books—if they can raise enough money to fund one, that is.
A new Indiegogo campaign has sprung up in an effort to raise $85,000 for a physical space of the Canada Comics Open Library (CCOL) in the next month.
Our crowdfunding campaign is live! Support the Canada Comics Open Library, and it’s mission at: https://t.co/35viEEGwp3
— The Canada Comics Open Library (@CanadaComicsOL) November 24, 2018
The non-profit organization, which is run by a team of eight people including several cartoonists and librarians from Toronto, hopes to open the first comics library in Canada.
You'll have to be a member to use the library (it's just $5 for the year) but the CCOL is big on all types of accessibility, so they'll also have a pay-it-forward model, which will allow for free memberships for those who can't afford it.
The library already has over 500 physical comics in its collection, which runs the gamut from speculative fiction works to anthologies and biographies.
If they're able to raise the $85K—which will be split between costs like rent, library supplies, and the salary for one full time admin—they'll be good to operate in a space for one whole year.
"The comics library will be a welcoming space where you can drop by to read our comics, hang around to work on your own comics and art, speak with other people interested in comics and the comic arts, and participate in workshops and other events," says CCOL.
With funding still up in the air, the location of the library has yet to be decided, though it'll have to be a minimum of 900 square-feet and accessible.
In the meantime, they'll be running pop-up libraries and their Canadian Cartoonist Database, an open source online library which has its own comic-specific cataloguing system.
So far, they've raised just over $2,000 since launching their campaign on Saturday.
Hector Vasquez
