Hermit.org: The Blake's 7 Library
| Archive | |
|---|---|
| Name: | The Blake's 7 Library aka the Hermit Library |
| Date(s): | 2000–present (last updated c. 2008; closure announced May 2015) |
| Archivist: | Judith Proctor |
| Founder: | Judith Proctor |
| Type: | fanfiction |
| Fandom: | Blake's 7 |
| URL: | The Blake's 7 Library Hermit.org Blake's 7 Library on AO3 |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Hermit Library is a Blake's 7 fanfiction archive hosted at the Hermit.org: Proctor's Blake's 7 Pages site.
It is officially entitled The Blake's 7 Library but rarely referred to by this name.
Founded and run by printzine publisher and author Judith Proctor in 2000, it was among the earliest multi-author archives in the fandom, and was for some years the largest online B7 archive.[1] After the demise of the Hip Deep in Heroes auto-archive in 2013, it is probably again the largest fandom-specific collection.
The Library includes many stories and novels which first appeared in printzines, particularly those published or agented by Judith. As some of the authors have long since left B7 fandom (or in some cases died), there is only partial overlap with Archive of Our Own. There is also a little fan art from illustrations in stories republished from printzines.
It archives gen, het, slash and femslash. The archive has a custom form interface which is unusual in requiring the reader to set minimum and maximum levels for sex of the m/f, m/m and f/f varieties, with six levels from "None" to "Rape/Bondage". Stories are not otherwise rated. As well as the usual selection of works by season, genre and major character, the Library form allows the reader to select for only showing stories with happy endings. Pairings were not tagged, nor were minor characters. All tagging was done by the archivist. Readers could rate stories for quality on a scale of 1 to 5 stars.
Site Migration
The library had not been updated for some time in 2008 when Hip Deep in Heroes was launched.[2]
Judith Proctor announced on 31 May 2015 that the entire Blake's 7 site on Hermit.org would be closing "soon". The archive would close, and the content would be imported by the Open Doors Project to a collection in Archive of Our Own, except where author permission is denied.[3]
The OTW announcement was posted 3 July 2015[4], and the import to the Archive of Our Own was completed in October 2015.[5]
See A Migration Announcement: Getting the Word Out.
Stats
The Library contained just over 600 stories in October 2011.
The most popular character is Avon, followed by Blake and Vila. The character stats are:
- Kerr Avon 452
- Roj Blake 307
- Vila Restal 217
- Cally 120
- Jenna Stannis 102
- Del Tarrant 64
- Orac 62
- Dayna Mellanby 58
- Olag Gan 56
- Servalan 50
- Soolin 33
- Zen 31
- Travis 30
- Slave 3
Season 2 is the most common setting, followed by Post-Gauda Prime. Pre-Way Back stories are the least popular. The season stats are:
- Pre-Way Back 34
- S1 130
- S2 170
- S3 134
- S4 104
- PGP 142
As of September 2015, the most popular stories by hit count (which might bias towards multi-chapter works) were:
- Dupe by Marian Mendez 16,105 hits
- The Quibell Abduction by Lillian Sheperd 12,351
- Jabberwocky - part 1 - Link-up by Sheila Paulson 11,682
- Morgan by Judith Proctor 11,571
- The Last Best Hope by Melody C. 11,772
- The Machiavelli Factor by Lillian Sheperd 10,747
- Jabberwocky Part 15 - Avatar by Sheila Paulson 10,279
- Jabberwocky - part 14 - Malodaar by Sheila Paulson 9704
- Jabberwocky part 16 - Mutoids by Sheila Paulson 9519
- Jabberwocky - part 2 - Mind-Rape by Sheila Paulson 9197
- Shadow - Novelisation by Murray Smith 8989
- The Haunting of Haderon by Lillian Sheperd 8902
- Jabberwocky - part 10 - Program by Sheila Paulson 8662
- Jabberwocky - Part 7 - Clone by Sheila Paulson 8488
- After the Fall by Harriet Bazley 8424
- Love and Honour by Andrew Kearley 8413
- Bounty - Novelisation by Murray Smith 8406
- Jabberwocky - part 3 - Healer by Sheila Paulson 8360
- Jabberwocky - part 12 - Lifeblood by Sheila Paulson 8318
- "Blake" novelization by Ewen Campion-Clarke 8295
- Jabberwocky - part 13 - Revenant by Sheila Paulson 8271
- Kriegspielen by Neil Faulkner 8073
- The Long Way Back by Melody C. 8040
As of September 2015, the most highly rated stories were:
- Touching Life by Vanessa Mullen 5 (16 votes)
- Fellow Feeling by Sally M 5 (12)
- Needs by Nell Howell 5 (5)
- The Way to Go Home by Sheila Paulson 5 (4)
- Prelude by David Tulley 5 (4)
- Jaberwocky Part 15 - Avatar by Sheila Paulson 5 (4)
- A Scale of Violence by Judith Proctor 5 (3)
Authors
Authors range from old school to the new wave of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Many of them do not archive elsewhere on the web.
Abigail Marland | Alan Stevens | Ali | Alice C. Aldridge | Alicia Ann Fox | Alison Page | Andrew Kearley
Belatrix Carter | Betty Ragan | Brisen
Calle Dybedahl | Cami | Cami O'Tool | Catherine Salmon | Catherine | Charlotte Kelly | Cipher Muse
Dan | David Dixon | David Tulley | Deirdre Hughes | Dormouse
Ellynne G | Emma Peel | Ewen Campion-Clarke | Executrix
Firerose | Frances Teagle | Frankie Lyndon
Hades | Hafren | Harriet Bazley | Helen Parkinson | Helen Patrick | Hera
Ika | I'm NearMadZen | Irish
J. Kel | Jackie Speel | Jean Graham | Jenny Hayward | Joanna Thomas | Joolz | Joyce Bowen | Judith Proctor | Julia Stamford
Kaelar | Kai Aurelius | Kathryn Andersen | Kathy Hintze
L.E. O'Brien | Leah Rosenthal | Legion | Leia Fee | Lilith | Lillian Sheperd | Linda Death | Linda Terrell | Louise Rutter | Louise Watson-Carver
M. Fae Glasgow/Cally Donia/Edi N. Burgh/Gael X. Ile/Emma Scot | Marian de Haan | Marian Mendez | Martin Odoni | Maryclare Mabon | Melody C. | Michael Driver | Michael Miles | Michelle Birkby | Mireille | Mjo | Murray Smith
Neil Faulkner | Nell Howell | Nicola Mody | Nova
Patti McClellan | Paula Robinson | Paula | Philippa Watts | Predatrix
Rebecca Ann Brothers | Red Leopard | Riley Cannon | Romana | Ros Williams | Rowena Tucker | Rushton | Russ Massey
S. Lewis | S.L. Koss | Sally Manton | Salome | Sandy Claws | Sara Maggs/Sarah Maggs | Sashet | Sebastian | Sheila Paulson | Snowgrouse | Steve Lake | Steve Rogerson | Susan Cutter | Susan | Susannah Shepherd
Tasha | Tom Beck | Troy Latto
Vanessa Mullen | Victoria Martin | Viv Martella's Ghost
Willa Shakespeare | William Charlier
A Migration Announcement: Getting the Word Out
This is a 2015 announcement regarding the upcoming migration and was made by aralias, the fan who volunteered to head the project:
The official announcement that Hermit Library would be moving to AO3 went up today. The import will start in a month to give any Hermit contributors time to either ask questions or request that their work not be imported.
http://transforma...coming-ao3
Peoples of Horizon - please spread the word to make sure that as many people as possible know of this, particularly if they're authors, but also because at some point the site will disappear (except in the WayBack Machine) and it's best to be prepared. I mention further down in this post that has been cross-posted quite a bit that we're shifting everything we can/that we have permission to shift onto other platforms, if possible - Judith says she's in discussion with Horizon to host the Sevenclopedia and other stuff, and the many of the reviews and zine listings are already on Fanlore, which is another OTW project.
The main post has answers to a lot of FAQs, but here are the most relevant points/some additional points:
- 1. Nobody’s work will be imported if they say no.
- 2. Nobody’s work will be imported if it is already on AO3! N.B. If any mistakes are made regarding the above, and hopefully they won’t be, it will be a result of human error and a lot of similar files, etc. Point 3 then comes into immediate effect.
- 3. Authors can remove or ask for their work to be removed from AO3 at any point
- 4. Imported fics can either be linked to existing AO3 accounts, or not, as the author specifies (and fics can be backdated so they don’t block your current fics)
- 5. Essays and filks will also be imported, with the same caveats above
- 6. The import will be done manually by humans
- 7. Hermit will be closed at some point because it’s costing money, but before that Judith and I are trying to arrange that almost all content is archived either on AO3 or somewhere else that people will be able to access
My final point is not an answer to a question - it’s a plea from me as a lover of Blake’s 7 fanfiction and fandom history, and someone who has recently taken their own medicine and uploaded a lot of late ‘90s Harry Potter fic they are vaguely ashamed of to the Archive:
Please, even if you are embarrassed by your old fic/don’t think it accurately reflects the way you’d write now, do consider allowing your work to be imported. This will ensure it is preserved, and (even while Hermit exists) that it will be more searchable. Someone will enjoy your fic, however old it is. Possibly a lot of someones. If you have ever been frustrated to discover that a book you wanted to read was out-of-print, please consider how future fans may feel when they discover that they could once have read that Vila/Cally epic but now it’s gone/inaccessible.
I also think it’s important to represent how the fandom used to be. Only by learning from the past can we understand our present, etc.
Please also do consider uploading any of your zine fic that has never been on the internet to AO3! I’m very happy to help with that too.
Any questions, please let me know here or at [email protected] [6]
References
- ^ See for example [1]
- ^ Nicola Mody. Announcing a new Blake's 7 fan fiction archive (16 July 2008) (accessed 15 October 2011)
- ^ watervole: Blakes 7 fic on Hermit moving to AO3 (accessed 11 June 2015)
- ^ The Hermit Library is Coming to the AO3 (accessed 3 July 2015)
- ^ Open Doors celebrates the completion of five archive imports in 2015! (accessed 2 May 2016)
- ^ post by aralias at Hermit Library is Coming to AO3