Cindy Crushes Programming: Anime Club, by Teen Librarian Cindy Shutts

Over my years as a librarian I have on and off held an anime club. I have started once again at my library. The first step to having a successful anime club is to have a way to watch anime online or with DVD/Blu Rays. I chose crunchyroll because they work with libraries to give us free streaming legally. Check your movie Licenses. 

How to get a free crunchy roll account.

This is from Crunchyroll:

“Email us: Just shoot us an email at club@crunchyroll.com from an email ending in .gov, .org, or .edu.
Create a Crunchyroll Account: Before emailing us, make sure to create a free Crunchyroll account. An existing account is fine, just make sure the associated email ends with .gov, .org, or .edu. No credit card is needed, make sure it is a free account! (limit one per organization)

What to Include in your email:

• The name of the library/organization:
• Librarian name:
• Name of the club:
• The size of your group:
• How often you meet:

Once we have received your request and it has been approved we will provide you with more watching info and premium access!

Turn your library into a world of anime that you and your club can dive into every week!”

I was able to get a free account within a week and now I have access to all of the shows they have.

What else do I do?

I talk to my teens. I ask them what they want and keep it simple. So far they have wanted to start a manga book club. I thought we could each read volume number one of a manga and report back on it. That keeps it fresh and easy, nothing too intensive. They also pick the anime to watch. Spy X Family was a popular one the kids loved. They also wanted snacks so my boss went to H Mart which has a ton of Asian snacks. 

This program is so low stress and fun. I also have them do an activity. I have coloring pages and then one month I printed out papercrafts for them to make. I found Sanrio has a lot of cute ones. Here is the link:https://www.sanrio.com/pages/character-goodies?srsltid=AfmBOoo8Isp4-62EsWBrioIQXY4B1QftmbR1nZiZUc9CmzcRgiY3hcF-

Sanrio Website is a great place to find craft and activities for librarians. So much fun.

I am hoping my new anime club will work in the long term. So far, we are doing well. Fingers crossed.

Filed under: Cindy Crushes Programming, Programming, Programming Resources, Teen Programming, Teen Programming in a Box, Tween programming