STEVE STEINER
In 2022, Shonda Linder approached Carl Coffin, director of Colleton County Memorial Library with a proposal: Let the library be the site of a Chisai Con, where fans of anime could meet, many of them appearing in cosplay outfits; anime is a popular Japanese style of cartoon (think Pikachu, or Sailor Moon), while cosplay is a form of performance art in which participants dress up as a character from a cartoon, movie, book or video game.
“At first the library didn’t think it would be suitable,” said Linder. However, she was able to demonstrate that having an anime convention would attract people of all ages, not just teens. Plus, due to the library’s size, it wouldn’t be overrun with teeming cosplayers. She proved her point with the first Chiisai Con, and that led to its second consecutive year.
“We’ve had a good turnout so far,” Linder said. It was only 10 a.m. at the time and people were already filling up the two rooms where the event was being held.
WHY THE NAME
“Chiisai in Japanese means small,” she said, which is why she felt the library was the right size. There was another reason she selected the name. “It’s a love letter to the Japanese culture.”
ABOUT THE LIBRARY
600 Hampton St., 843-549-5621, 843-549-5122 (fax), colletonlibrary.org
