Laura Byrne-Cristiano (l.) and Melissa Anelli.

The most recent installment of the New York Public Library’s monthly Children’s Literary Café spurred an in-depth discussion about the “fan phenomenon.” Whether one is actually part of the fan community or not, the impact of the Twilight and Harry Potter worlds are inescapable. Be it the sold-out screenings of the newest Harry Potter movie or the police protection needed by Twilight star Robert Pattison (who plays Edward), fandom itself is a presence as much as the novels.

Fan fanfare aside, online forums best serve this community, ultimately. Melissa Anelli, who works at Harry Potter fan site The Leaky Cauldron, and Laura Byrne-Cristiano, a creator of the Twilight Lexicon site, were on hand to explore the fan phenomenon. As contributors to and moderators of fan sites, these women witness firsthand the ebb and flow and intensity of the online fan community.

Anelli came to the Leaky Cauldron early in the century, when blogs and web-surfing were still niche and not quite as integrated into the fabric of information-diffusion as today. Without any real forerunners, her site was crafted according to the demands of readers, so fan satisfaction created the benchmark. Byrne-Cristiano, who formerly moderated the Werewolf Registry, admitted to being influenced by Sugarquill and Leaky Cauldron, and said she was “not trying to reinvent the wheel.” Both sites have a small core staff —the “emissaries of fandom,” Anelli joked—and a large number of volunteers. The goal was, and still is, to create a cohesive community. The Internet has facilitated access to others who possess the same zeal about these fictional yet vibrantly active worlds, and has enabled fans across the globe to have conversations about them with each other.

When asked just what is it about these worlds that encourages fandom, Byrne-Cristiano stated, “Bella is so ordinary.... Anybody can immerse themselves in her first person.” Anelli agreed that the titular character of the series is crucial to a fan following. “Harry is a lionheart,” she said. Moreover, the otherwordly setting provides an “imaginative world [that] people love to play in,” she added. It’s a balancing of foreign worlds peopled by familiar characters. Byrne-Cristiano’s statement about Twilight seems true when applied to any otherworldly series, namely that: “It’s a vampire story without the vampires being the point.”

Anelli and Byrne-Cristiano both agreed that fan sites have no effect on the authors in terms of their content (as one would hope and expect), though the sites can and do affect promotion tactics. And as for the pricklier side of fandom, rivalry between the two mega-selling series was downplayed. Demonstrating much diplomacy, the women assured the audience of the prevalence of fandom crossover, themselves included.

When the movies and series come to an end, what happens to their sites? the two were asked. “We’ll still be there,” each said unequivocally. There’s an expectation of plateau—a shift from the spikes that occur when movies and new books come out—but the essential nature of fandom—the eagerness for more information—should ensure many return visits for the foreseeable future.