1. Where Few Archivists Have Gone Before:  Fanzines in Archives and Libraries
Jeremy Brett, C.A.
Processing Archivist and Science Fiction Curator
Cushing Memorial Library & Archives
Texas A&M University

2. Yes, there IS science fiction in Texas!

3. Science Fiction and Fantasy at TAMU
One of the biggest SF&F collections in the USA
C. 25,000 individual pieces; 100-odd archival collections
Huge collection of 20th century American pulps
Books and manuscripts from numerous authors
Personal libraries of Anne McCaffrey and Andre
Norton
Authors include: Clarke, Le Guin, Bradbury, Heinlein, McCaffrey, Delany, Silverberg, Robert Howard, Tolkein, etc, Papers of Moorcock and George R.R. Martin

4. TAMU’s Fannish Presence
TAMU working to expand collections of
materials relating to how people see, react to,
interact with SF and fantasy
Filksong, fanvids, fanzines
In tandem with the PRODUCTS of SF – books, magazines, movies and TV shows – part of our collecting strategy involves collecting and preserving the products of the fans who receive these materials.

5. Fanzines: Contents May Vary
Fan fiction
Art, Photographs
Song lyrics
Poetry
Interviews
Club information
Personal essays or reflections on
fannish topics
Reviews of books, films, etc.
The beauty of the fanzine that it’s a very malleable medium: it can contain all sorts of different kinds of content which can be expressed in all kinds of different ways
Also, media platforms for fanzines can also vary greatly - most are still in print format, but increasingly fanzines have an online presence or are otherwise born digital

6. Fanworks at TAMU Media Fandom…
The fanzine collections at TAMU are growing:
Contents linear feet of Media Fanzine Collection
c feet of fanzines from specific named donor collections
c. 40 linear feet of SF fanzines from 1960s onwards
close to 2000 individual media fanzines digitized in our IR or waiting for metadata attachment and uploading
Media Fandom…
Focuses on a specific media production or productions (movie, TV show, comic book, video game, anime)
Generally focuses on fan fiction, art, poetry, music (vidding) as chief contents of the fanzines

7. Fanzines in Libraries and Archives: Why?
Fandom an important cultural phenomenon – the materials that document it need to be preserved for the future
The ways in which distinct social communities develop and evolve over time
The voices of “outsiders”
The continuing DIY (Do-It-Yourself) publishing movement
UC-Riverside, University of Iowa, Bowling Green State, Temple…and the numbers are growing…
Fan studies increasingly visible as a field of study (Anne Jamison’s Fic )

8. Fanzines in Libraries and Archives: Why?
You never know who’ll become famous….
An example of how media fans can use fanfiction and fan art to redefine characters they like (or don’t like) and make their own canon (‘fanon’)– media fandom and fanfiction is a opportunity for fans to mold and shape the shows and other productions they love in their own minds and within their own communities – by archiving media fanzines we can see how people interact creatively with media productions.
Also examples how fanzine authors can become well-known professional authors (E.L. James, Claire)
DT: The Draco Trilogy, a Draco-centric fanfic trilogy of stories by Cassandra Claire
Apa Five, from 1970s: Cover by Frank Miller

9. Apazines
Apazines consist primarily of responses to comments and observations made in previous issues by fellow fans
Result: An ongoing, free-flowing conversation between fans across distances

10. Fanzines, like all of us, have issues…
Donors have privacy concerns