Since the founding of Comic-Con in 1970, one of our primary goals has been to support the education community and to promote the discovery of new ways to incorporate comics into the classroom.

During the week of Comic-Con, attendees can take part in a special series of panels, “Talking Comics with America’s Educators: The Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians,” designed specifically for educators and librarians. The San Diego Central Library is located just a few blocks east of the Convention Center, at 11th Avenue and K Street (see the map at the bottom of this page). Teachers, academics, librarians, publishers, and researchers—both local and international—will be offering their views about how comic books in the classroom can help educators tackle some of the challenges of modern education.

Best of all, educators and librarians are invited to attend these panels for free, whether they have a Comic-Con badge or not! If you or another educator you know would like to attend but don’t have a badge, please visit this link to register in advance: www.san diego.gov/ccel. Registration for educators without badges ends on July 17.

These panels are not only for educators … all Comic-Con attendees are welcome to attend! Stop by and find out how you can help promote the adoption of comics in the classroom and participate in a lively discourse on the latest in teaching pedagogy. Educational panels take place in the Shiley Events Suite on the 9th floor of the San Diego Central Library starting on Wednesday and running through Sunday. Here’s a preliminary schedule for the educational programs in the Shiley Special Events Suite. For more details on the panels—including the descriptions—please check the complete Programming Schedule when it debuts on Thursday, July 6 here on our website.

Wednesday, July 19

4:00: Teaching with Comics: An Interactive Workshop for Educators

Thursday, July 20

10:00: Creators, Libraries, and Literacy

11:00: Picture Books for Grown-Ups: Why Graphic Novels Matter to Adults

12:00: Read-Alikes: What to Suggest When Patrons Have Already Read Smile and The Walking Dead

1:00: Young Adult Graphic Novel and Manga Collection Essentials: What Titles Every Library Should Carry

2:00: Diversity in Comics: A Librarian’s Perspective

3:00: Graphic Novel and Manga Programming for Tweens and Teens in our Diverse Communities for Any Budget

4:00: Library Cons: Welcoming Deadpool into Your Library

5:00: How to Judge What Is Appropriate in Comics: What Does T for Teen Really Mean?

Friday, July 21

10:00: Using Comics to Support Different Learning Styles in the Classroom

11:00: From Asterix to Zeus: Developing an Essential Kids’ Graphic Novel Collection

12:00: Handling Challenges: Bans and Challenges to Comics

1:00: Read Like a Girl: Middle Grade Fiction for Girls (and Boys)

2:00: Nonfiction and Memoir in Graphic Novels

3:00: Prose to Panels: Graphic Novel Adaptations

4:00: Meet the Makers

5:00: Publishers’ Talkback Session

Saturday, July 22

10:00: Content Literacy: Teaching STEM with Comics

11:00: CBLDF: Equipping Teachers to Defend Comics

12:00: Graphic Novels in the High School Library

1:00: Superheroes and Comics Can Transform Learning

2:00: Comics in Classrooms and Instruction

3:00: Developing Comics for Social Impact and Change

4:00: When Comic Shops, Teachers, and Librarians Work Together

5:00: Inspiring Young Readers Through Graphic Novels

Sunday, July 23