ext_115597 ([identity profile] francescacoppa.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] otw_news2009-06-17 05:54 pm

Announcing: The Fan Culture Preservation Project!

The OTW is pleased to announce that we will be partnering with the University of Iowa to create a Fan Culture Preservation Project.

The Special Collections department at the University of Iowa already has a strong interest in zines, and is making a concerted effort to collect zines and other artifact of fan culture (con programs and flyers, for instance) in order to preserve them and make them accessible to wider popular and research audiences. Iowa is home to a huge (250,000) collection of science fiction and fantasy zines and APA zines, as well as a collection of Riot Grrrl and Underground Music Zines. Media fandom is not as well represented, and they are eager to collect many aspects of fan culture, including all types of fanfiction.

The first major donation brokered by OTW is the Fanzine Archive, a collection of over 3,000 classic zines previously housed in Santa Barbara--over 62 boxes! The OTW was able to help the retiring archivist, Ming Wathne, save and protect this valuable collection. Special Collections is currently in the process of sorting and boxing Ming’s zines. Soon after that is finished, titles in the Fanzine Archive collection will be listed in a finding aid on the Special Collections website. We are currently helping other long time fans donate their collections to the library.

OTW and Iowa are eventually hoping to explore ways to digitize some of these materials, so that fans who want to see them will have access, even if they can't get to Iowa. (We are only talking about works where we have legal clearance; both the University of Iowa and the OTW are concerned about fan privacy first and foremost.) The Special Collections department at the University of Iowa is also willing to photocopy materials for a price of about $.25 cents a page, according to their standard procedures.

Moving? Apartment getting too small? If you have zines you no longer want (or more than you can manage!) but want to know they'll find a good home, please contact the OTW. We can arrange for postage to be paid and for UPS to come to your house to pick up the boxes. You might also consider leaving your collection to the Fan Culture Preservation Project or making arrangements through a friend.

Please help us preserve this important part of fannish history!

ETA: Hey, if you're in the area, check out the Star Trek exhibition curated by our FCPP partners at the University of Iowa! Where Many Have Gone Before: Re-launching Star Trek, on display until July 1, 2009.

Mirrored from an original post on the OTW Blog.

[identity profile] st-crispins.livejournal.com 2009-06-17 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
The U of Iowas Special Collections also holds the Norman Felton collection, which includes all the documents relating to the Man from U.N.C.L.E. And in that collection, are fanzines and fan newsletters.

We've been sending them for years :)

[identity profile] jersey-lion.livejournal.com 2009-06-18 12:09 am (UTC)(link)
Your own stuff, or just UNCLE zines, etc?

[identity profile] st-crispins.livejournal.com 2009-06-18 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
Not mine. HQ newsletters but there were some early MFU zines there too.

[identity profile] morgandawn.livejournal.com 2009-06-18 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
great idea. I've posted it to a few fanzine friendly mailing lists. and now I have a place to donate my fanzines.

ps. you may want to consider sending out an annual reminder of the project.

[identity profile] morgandawn.livejournal.com 2009-06-18 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
Also, send flyers to mediawest next May? lots of fanzine wheeling and dealing people attend. better yet, see if the mediaWest people will include this in a progress reports.

I emailed the info to two west coast fanzine dealers (they agent fanzines and books for people) Jim & Melody Rondeau

I've never attended Mediawest but.....

[identity profile] morgandawn.livejournal.com 2009-06-18 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't think mediawest has a blog - they have a mailing list, but they don;t allow anyone to post but the organizers. But here is what contact info I have
Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mediawestcon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mwcprogram
Website: http://www.mediawestcon.org/mwc30.htm
e-mail: MediaWestCon@aol.com

They do have an Orphan zine table, so that might be one route for a flyer (contact info here: http://www.mediawestcon.org/mwc30.htm)

Re flyers. from the PR report:
"Flyers from non-attending members may be mailed to the MW*C Lansing address. Please mark “FLYERS” on the outside of the package."

They also have a fanzine reading room - possible place for flyers?

and last, they have a spot on the Progress Reports where people can make announcements

przed (a fellow vidder) does attend the convention fromtime to time and may know people. kathy resch (fanzine dealer) is also a regular attendee. I'll post in my blog asking anyone who goes to mediawest/has contacts that they can contact you direct?

considering Mediawest is one of *the* largest fanzine conventions, this is a great investment of the OTW's time/energy

Re: I've never attended Mediawest but.....

[identity profile] morgandawn.livejournal.com 2009-06-18 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)
hey, we talked about this. I can only handle small discrete tasks with long deadlines and where I can work alone and at my own pace. being on permament medical leave sucks.

and don;t worry about mediawest - there will be one next May and this gives you months to find someone to help bring the project to attendees. you will need a rep at the convention I think - there is a lot of concern and questions about archiving fanzines. I am so glad Ming's libraray was preserved. I used it a few times
bell: rory gilmore running in the snow in a fancy dress (Default)

[personal profile] bell 2009-06-18 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
That is so freaking awesome. :D

[identity profile] callisto24.livejournal.com 2009-06-18 03:17 pm (UTC)(link)
That's really cool. I wonder if you have listed Kieferlou Zines, because I think there are amazing ones out there and still available, though it's a very small fandom.
The newest one can be find here: [livejournal.com profile] kieferlou, and there are three awesome ones called "The Boys Are Back". I think these should be registered, if possible, because they look like real art to me. :)
Blessings! ;)

[identity profile] callisto24.livejournal.com 2009-06-19 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Cool, I'd love too. Thanks for the permission. I'll post it on the list! ;)
Blessings!

[identity profile] mizuno-caitlin.livejournal.com 2009-06-20 08:54 am (UTC)(link)
Gah! What an interesting project! And thanks for the heads up on the ST display at the library!

[identity profile] jeff-morris.livejournal.com 2009-06-20 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Boy, do I have a ton of Blakes 7 zines for you... :)