The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material

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Archive
Name: The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material (originally "The Corellian Archives")
Date(s): mid-1980s–current day (complicated: see below)
Archivist: Ming Wathne (March 1990-2008)
Founder: Ming Wathne
Type: zine collection
Fandom: multifandom
URL: old internet home page (WBM copy)
Ming's University of Iowa collection
Other zine collections at the University of Iowa

Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa Libraries

Fanzine Archives 02.png
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
logo from Ming's website, was also used on print flyers [1]

The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material was a collection of fanfiction zines owned and circulated by fans from the mid-1980s to 2008.

The collection's origin is a direct offshoot of George Lucas' attempts to restrict fan publishing. When Lucas stopped requesting that fans send him copies of their fanworks in 1986 (when the Official Star Wars Fan Club folded), he sent the zine collection back into the hands of a fan group.

Ming Wathne inherited the zine collection, expanded upon it, and eventually remodeled her house to make shelf space for the hundreds, then thousands of different fanzines she acquired and cataloged. Local fans helped log in new zines, but it was Ming's show for more than 20 years.

The Archives maintained an active circulating library of over 300 fanzines and a permanent collection of over 3,000 titles and became a federally recognized, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and circulation of fanzines.

This collection is now called the Mariellen (Ming) Wathne Fanzine Archive Collection. It resides in the at the Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa Libraries and was the first major collection of zines to be saved and preserved part of the OTW's Fan Culture Preservation Project.

Different Names & Locations

The Archives had several different names and incarnations:

History

Quick Timeline

  • Beginning in 1981 (perhaps earlier),[3] George Lucas requested that copies of all Star Wars fanzines be sent to him. The zines were "scheduled to be terminated" when the original Official Star Wars Fan Club folded in 1986. Maureen Garrett attended a MediaWest*Con (unknown year) and fans brokered a deal to have the collection given to them instead of going into the trash. [4]
  • In September 1986, there is an announcement in Southern Enclave #13 (and other places) that the collection would become a fan lending library run by First Terran Enclave
  • First Terran Enclave ran this collection as a lending library from January 1, 1987 to December 1987, perhaps longer. [5]
  • The zines resided in an unknown location and were not circulated for two years. During this time, the Seattle fans spent at least a year contacting other solutions to preserving and archiving the materials, but they were not successful. [6]
  • In November 1989, Ming wrote a letter to Comlink and explained she was re-opening the lending library and that The Santa Barbara Science Fiction Alliance would be involved. The collection was to be "The Corellian Archives." She hoped to have it up and running in the spring of 1990.
  • A 1991 flyer in Ming's zine Bright Center of the Universe #1 stated:
Announcing the reopening of the Fan Zine Library. The Santa Barbara Science Fiction Alliance has taken over custodianship. We are now Multi-Media, but as a tribute to George Lucas who started it we have renamed it "THE CORELLIAN ARCHIVES." We now have become part of the Research Libraries interested in Fandom. We join Such Libraries as The Smithsonian Library, The Library of Congress, University of California, The Walt Disney Archives and other national and international Libraries interested in Fandom.

Good news: Phase 1 of the "zine room redo was completed with the deletion of over 300 "zines from the permanent loan collection. With a few new 'zines added this year, the collection now has 245 'zines covering 23 fandoms with a few more fandoms showing up in the 3 extra categories of Cross-overs, Fringe Fandoms and-Multi-Media 'zines. Almost half of the deleted 'zines were taken by Ming Wathne of the Fannish Archives to be used for its " loan-by-mail" program. Thanks to the con members who drove Ming (and over 100 lbs of 'zines!) to the post office. The remaining 'zines were put out in a box at the zine room door for #1 each or whatever donation the buyer wanted to make. The money was split 60-40 between the Fan Fund and the Fannish Archives for it's shipping costs. There were also 11 items in the silent bid auction for the Fannish Archives of which 9 sold."

-- from the post con report for 2000 MediaWest*Con

Origin and the First Terran Enclave

The foundation of the Fanzine Archive was the "The SWzine Library"/"The SWzine Lending Library", (later "Corellian Archives") which started because of Lucasfilms' attempt to control Star Wars fanfic. By 1981, Lucasfilms had been telling fanzine editors that they needed to send Lucasfilms two copies of each fanzine they produced that had Star Wars content. (for more information, see: Open Letter to Star Wars Zine Publishers). Years later, Lucasfilms gave up on the idea, and offered the pile of fanzines to fandom. A group of fans called the First Terran Enclave were the recipients and started a lending library.

From September 1986:

Forceful greetings from the First Terran Enclave!

As you may have heard. Lucasfilms Ltd. has closed the Official Star Wars Fan Club as an in-house organization. During the packing-up of the OSWFC offices, a library of "Star Wars" and mixed-media fanzines was identified as surplus and "scheduled to be terminated." The First Terran Enclave submitted a proposal for the preservation of the fanzines which included the non-profit administration of a fannish lending library and a plan for ultimate donation of the entire collection intact to the library of a university or state college. This proposal, once accepted, became the charter document for the Star Wars Lending Library (to begin circulation January 1, 1987). A copy of the charter document is available to all for an SASE. Please scan the list of zine titles at the left margin of this sheet. We would like to obtain the permission of the editors to include their zine in the Fanzine Lending Library for circulation. We've already sent a copy of this letter to all the editors for whom we have current addresses, and we need to hear from anyone who has not received her copy. Participation is optional, of course—if an editor prefers, her zine will not be circulated in any form, while it will still be included in the Library for the purposes of donation. Naturally, too. any additional titles published that an editor may wish to contribute to the Lending Library would be more than welcome, and will be included in the donation of the library to its final home. We really hope everyone will participate in the Star Wars Fanzine Lending Library. No-one is going to make any money off this and we will be prepared to prove it. Nor are we going to violate the right of an editor to terminate circulation of her zine. But we're counting on fanzine editors nation-wide to realize that the existence of this library can be a significant resource for all fans, neofans, poor fans, any fan with no other hope to ever read an out-of-print zine.

We want this library to provide a needed service, we're looking forward to your support!

From June 1987:

A good number of them - over a hundred titles from the Official Star Wars Fanclub collection, as well as titles since donated by fans - temporarily reside in a basement in Seattle as the SW Fanzine Lending Library. This collection of SW fanzines, many donated by Maureen Garrett when the OSWFC disbanded in spring of 1986, is intended for eventual donation to a scholastic library. Until then, though, we're operating a lending library, so that copies of these often rare (and always precious) zines are available to SW fandom for reading. These are zines like ALDERAAN, the original SW letterzine and the early GUARDIANs; classics like KESSEL RUN and PEGASUS; impossible to find zines like THE FORCE and out-of-print issues of many now well-known zines.

The 'who' of the library, as in who's providing the slave labor, is a group of Seattle-area fans who gather under the name of the First Terran Enclave. As for why we do this, well, Ellen says she was bribed, Carol says she was in the car and couldn't help but come to the library meetings, Steve wanted an excuse to socialize occasionally. All summer we worked on contacting the editors; by the end of the year, we had received permission to circulate enough zines to make tlle Library a reality. We organized our order forms; organized the zines; delved into the mysteries of the Post Office and 4th class Book Rate/Insured mailing.

On January 5, our first zine copes went out in the mail. For the next year, or longer if interest in the library continues, we will continue making copies of these zines available for reading to SW fandom. We're now all going slightly bonkers keeping up with the details and the copying, but it's worth it. Bev (who first said yes to the idea to Maureen and therefor couldn't get out of it) is in charge of searching for the best home for fandom's zines when the Library shuts down. The kind of home we're looking for is an academic or public library that will not only archive the fanzines properly to preserve them, but make them available to scholars and other folk who will use them. A university with a department of popular culture or folklore and a library that has an existing collection of pop culture, science fiction, fanzines, and related material would be ideal. In our more parochial moments, we'd like the collection to remain on the West Coast, but we're open to suggestions from all over the country. Names that have come up so far are Texas A&M, Michigan State University, Bowling Green State University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, the University of Washington, and the Toronto Public Library. Bev is still soliciting suggestions for other possible homes. Where we have duplicate copies of a fanzine (we have three or four copies of some!), we'll auction the duplicates and donate the proceeds to one of the media-fannish funds, probably the Sara Campbell Scholarship Fund. As for the rest of us, Maggie and Susan had a basement, and Jim and June had the computer. Signe needed a good excuse to escape from the wilds of Issaquah and the Cascade foothills, and DJ had a few things to say about our original charter and guidelines...

My only regret at this point is that there are many zines that have not given permission to the library for their Circulation, which doesn't help... Maybe those editors who didn't get around to mailing their permission slips back will get a move on as word of the Library spreads; maybe those who didn't get their mailer (some of our addresses were really OLD), will write us. If any COMLlNK readers know editors in either position - give a call and a push! [9]

The library operated under the umbrella of First Terran Enclave for one year. Maggie Nowakowska announced that, as of December 31, 1987, the SW Fanzine Lending Library had closed. "She thanked everyone who participated and said to check the various fan publications for news on the library's new scholastic home." [10]

A fan in December 1987 questions what should be done with these zines. A librarian disagrees that the zines "owned" by First Terran Enclave, and now apparently homeless, should be put in a library that allows them to be borrowed through interlibrary loan:

They have to decide how they want the collection to be regarded. If it's to be considered a collection of publications that document a unique creative response to a popular culture phenomenon, an almost irreplaceable record of Star War's fandom's creative energy, then it needs to be carefully preserved and not allowed out on interlibrary loan... No top-notch special collections librarian I know would agree to allowing the fanzine collection circulate... S/he would, instead, catalog the collection, make its availability known through a nation union catalog, probably OCLC, perhaps have a good bibliography produced, and then either personally supervise the photocopying of material requested or require the scholars to come to the library themselves... they should be treated like gossamer, kept in controlled temperature and humidity and light levels, and only brought out to be used in the Rare Reading Room by people who have a real need to used them.[11]

In June 1989, a fan asks: "Whatever happened to the 'Star Wars Lending Library'?" Another fan responds: "I know that it has been shut down and they were looking for a permanent place for the fanzines. Does anyone have any further info? Linda? Bev?" [12]

Becoming Ming's Library

In November 1989, Ming Wathne writes:

Starwarszinelibrary2.jpg
To those friends and Editors who know me, and also to those those who don't, if one is stubborn, you can always get yourself into messes, that I have accomplished the project. The George Lucas Fan Zine Library is going to reopened. The Santa Barbara Science Fiction Alliance has taken over custodianship with myself as the curator. It is hoped that the library will be opened in March or April 1990. It has been renamed The Corellian Archives.[13]

boxed zines in Ming Wathne's huge outdoor shed
part of the Fanzine Archives

From a notice in the first issue of The Monthly in January 1990:

Circulating fan zine library to reopen. Open for circulation in March (earliest April). The Lending Library is open now for some information and contributions. Originally only Star Wars, now we want to cover all media. This is an out-of-print circulating library, not a copy service... Let new fans read OOP material... Editors: we need contributions if possible, or would like permission to circulate your out-of-print materal if copies can be found.

Soon, other fans were asking if she'd take copies of non-Star Wars zines, and Ming started collecting them, too, eventually remodeling her house to make shelf space for the hundreds, then thousands of different fanzines she acquired and cataloged. Local fans helped log in new zines, but was Ming's show for more than 20 years.

In late 1990, Ming starts toying with the idea of renaming the library:

The Corellian Library is in great need of contributions or the OK to circulate your out-of-print material. There will be a new listing coming out in January. How does the "National Fan Zine Library" sound? And don't let the name fool you. While Star Wars is my favorite personally, as Librarian, I don't play favorites.[14] In December 1990, she posts an ad using the new title, "National Fan Zine Library." [15]

From The Monthly in January 1991:

Congratulations to the Corellian Archives, which has been nominated to join the Library of Congress, The Smithsonian Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Walt Disney Archives, and a series of state and international Libraries as a research source for fan interests -- the first step to becoming a national Fan Zine Library.

A New Home with the Fan Culture Preservation Project

As of August 2008, the Fanzine Archives was closed due to Ming's health. Ming asked fans to help her find a permanent home for the 3,000 plus zines she carefully accumulated and indexed.[16]

In early 2009, the Open Doors committee of the Organization for Transformative Works, headed by Francesca Coppa, helped to place the Fanzine Archives with the Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa Libraries as part of their Fan Culture Preservation Project. Sixty-two boxes of zines were transferred to the university and were cataloged during that summer.

The Finding Aid for the Ming's zines at the University of Iowa.[17]

After Ming's death on December 17, 2010, her husband requested that memorial donations be directed to a fund supporting this collection and given in Ming's honor.[18]

Fandoms

Why a Star Wars Zine Archive?

From June 1987:

...we all think Maggie answered the question, 'Why go to all the trouble to run a zine library?' [Her thoughts]: 'Coming into fandom a little late (1980), I missed many of the early SWfanzines, those incredible first efforts. Oh, I had heard of fanzines, as any Trek fan had, but I'd never seen one. Then, at my first convention I discovered a SW fanzine. I was hooked! I had to have more, read more - I wanted it all. Alas, economics prevented me from acquiring more than just a few, although thanks to the generosity of a new friend in fandom, I was able to read some of the ones I'd missed. Whenever I could lay my hands on a 'zine I hadn't seen before, I was like a person dying of thirst finding water in the desert (a bit melodramatic, I know, but it's the only comparison I could think of). I would read whatever I found from cover to cover In record time, not thinking that I should savor the moment, make it last, for I didn't know when I'd get another one... Now, I have a chance to finish playing catch-up. I'm able to take a look at fan history from the beginning and at how far we've progressed. ...SW can and will live on in the minds and the hearts of all its fans; and in all the fanzines, both old and those yet to be.[19]

From Star Wars to Multifandom

The library originally contained only Star Wars zines. Fans asked if she'd take copies of non-Star Wars zines, and she started collecting them, too. When the library reopened in 1990, the collection became multifandom.

Policies

The Opt-Out Clause

Fandom is never easy to communicate with. When she acquired a zine, Ming wrote the fanzine editor according to the address in the zine (often many years out of date), but frequently was unable to make sure that the original zine editor or publisher would want their zine circulating in the library. She also posted many notices in various adzines, The Monthly one of them, putting a call out to long-lost authors to get a hold of her. Ming was smart enough to use opt-out: her form letter says "if you DON'T reply within xx days, your work WILL be included."

1990 Policies

certificate sent to a fan in appreciation of a donation

The "Corellian Archives" first opened with these policies:[20]

  • The Library is not part of my own extensive collection.
  • The Library is not a copy service.
  • The Library will be a circulating library requiring a small fee, estimated at this time between $1.25-$1.50.
  • The Library will make one copy only of the original zine for circulation, originals will not be trusted to the mails.
  • All commitments made to the library when it was in Seattle will be honored.
  • Given the realities of the zine world, however, if the zines are out of print and efforts to reach the Editors or their agents are non-productive, the zine will be circulated just as it would be in a standard library.
  • It is a hope that the Library will eventually be repository for all zine material, not just Star Wars. We already have some Star Trek and foreign language material.
  • The thrust of the Library is to make available to new fans the early zine materials, most of which has already been lost as Editors lose interest and have turned to other things.
  • Donations to the Library should be originals or good copies.
  • Zines that are still in print and available on the market will be held in storage until they are declared out of print unless we have the Editor's OK to circulate them.

1993 Policies

Until 1993, zine editors were welcome to change their mind and withdraw a zine from circulation if they wanted. In 1993, Ming sent a notice to The Monthly which stated a new policy: "Due to the expense of making circulation copies, withdrawing permission to circulate an out-of-print zine can no longer be honored once a circulation copy has been made. If you have given permission under the old regulations and wish to remove that permission, please contact me before April 30, 1993. If a copy has not been made, the old agreement is still good."

The Fanzine Archive site posted a list of "Other things you should know about the Library." These included:

  • Original zines are not circulated, only copies (except in the case where the Library has multiple copies of a fanzine in the collection).
  • Only the zines marked "AVAILABLE" are ready to be borrowed.
  • If you want to borrow a zine marked "Needs Sponsor", you must pay copy charges to create the circulating copy.
  • Zines marked "No Circulation" are for on-site reference only, and may not be sponsored or borrowed.
  • Zines are shipped priority mail insured, or UPS, which ever is more cost-effective. (Zines never leave the library uninsured.)
  • The Library does not circulate during the months of May and December, but is open for all other business.
  • Zines are mailed once-monthly, on the 20th . All requests received in the prior month will be shipped on the 20th. If the 20th falls on Saturday, the zines will be shipped on Friday. If it falls on Sunday, the zines will be shipped on Monday.
  • Zines must be received back in the library 40 days from the date sent, or a late fee of five cents per day will be charged until the zine is returned.
  • Zines may be returned by any method a client prefers (US mail, UPS, or other), a long as they get back safely, and on time. Remember: clients are responsible for lost, damaged or uninsured zines, so insure!
Fanzine Archives Homepage

Anticipating services like NetFlix, The Fanzine Library offered users "Single-Request Accounts" ("for the new or occasional user") and Long Term Deposit Accounts ("for the more active user"). Under the Single-Request plan, you could only borrow one zine at a time; with a LTD, you opened an account with a deposit of $50 and you could start a request list of at least 8 zines in order of preference. You could then get two zines at a time and slowly draw down on your account (there were charges for shipping, as well as a small rental fee.)

Pdfs listing all the zines once listed on the Fanzine Archives site can be found here: A - Z Listing of Zines, Star Trek Zines, Star Wars Zines, Miscellaneous Zines.

1996 Policies

HOW TO USE THE FANZINE LIBRARY

There is no fee to join the libraiy. But there is a deposit required, this covers the cost of shipping one way, and a users fee. There are 2 types of accounts, STANDARD & LONG TERM DEPOSIT (LTD).

In a standard account the client makes a selection from the zine list, and sends a post card request. We return a card stating present availability & the deposit amount. This represents the shipping costs one way; the rental fee and insurance.

The client sends a deposit check, for the required amount, which is put in a dedicated account. On the sending day the 20th, the zine(s) is sent. When the zine is returned the deposit minus charges is returned to the client.

The zines are due back at the Libraiy 40 days from the date of our sending, from the library. A maximum of only 1 zine at a time may be out to a client on a standard account. This account is available to the first time user and is recommended for the casual or the once in a while user.

For the more active user we recommend the LTD account. Here an opening deposit of $50.00 or more is required as well as a selection of 8 or more zines. Listed in preferred order (we try to send them this way, but do not guarantee it) 2 zines at a time will be sent on this account. They are sent on the 20th of the month. These zine can be out for 40 days, but, they must be back at the Library by the 40th day or a five cent a day late charge will be made. On the sending day the selected zines are sent, when the zine(s) are returned the shipping and use charges are deducted from the LTD account. This account allows a sending until the account is down to $35.00, when it must be brought up to at least $50. again. This saves the round robbin postage costs and assures zines at every sending. An accounting is sent every month when the library is active This LTD account is not available to a first time user, and is not recommended to the casual once-in-a-while reader.

Only the zines listed on the circulating zine list are avadable! Originals are never circulated, only copies. Zines are shipped priority insured or UPS which ever is the more reasonable at the time. A zine never leaves the library uninsured.

Zines may be returned anyway a client prefers mail, UPS or ???? just as long as they get back safely and on time.( remember you are charged for late zines) If the 20th falls on a Saturday the zines are shipped on Friday, if on Sunday they are shipped on Monday.

Clients are responsible for lost damaged or uninsured zines—So insure!

2001 Policies

THE RENTAL FEE ATTHIS TIME IS $1.50 per zine on an LTD account and $50.00 on the Standard (Occasional) account).

The following outline is for the Standard account The LTD is handled somewhat differently as we have a continuing deposit at the Library.

The basic deposit is $50 00 on the Standard or LTD accounts. This covers postage and insurance and guarantee of return.

When the zine is returned the Rental fee ($2 00) the postage or shipping costs are taken from the deposit and the remainder is returned to the user As an example the deposit is $50.00 The Rental fee—$2.00. Average estimated postage & insurance—$4.10 The S6.10 is taken out ofthe $50.00 and the remainder is returned to the client, unless the zine is not returned or damaged. Then we keep the deposit to make a Replacement. That is why we recommend you insure zines when you return them.

Circulation Catalog Transfers: The circulation section is only a small part ofthe Fan Zine Archives holdings there are over 5000 zines on the Archives shelves.

How to move a zine from the storage catalog and into circulation I MUST HAVE IT or SPONSORING A ZINE: Because many zines are either very old or out of print items, or had a limited circulation to start with, The Library will make copies of any material we have that is more then 7 years old, and where the original Editors/authors could not contacted* we will make a circulation copy.

To make this possible, we have established a new program. If you are willing to pay for a copy, and donate it to the Library, we will make that copy. As a "Friend ofthe Library" Sponsor We do not charge a rental fee on this. But a deposit covering printing cost, postage and a return guarantee, is required to assure the zine is returned, as this is not a sale of the zine. When the zine is returned the charge minus the postage and copy cost is returned to the Sponsor. The charges for this service it this time is 10 cents each side a page, plus the return charge.

As most of these zines are long out of print, the costs if you were lucky enough to find them, would be very expensive This donation, in most cases, would be much less then the cost of buying these zines, and, as the zines are sent loose leaf, the buyer can make their own personal copy if they wish to keep a copy.

A full copy of the Archives holding is available There is a charge of $3.00 for this plus an SASE with 2 loose first class stamps. The list is over 30 plus pages long This list is also available on the E-net at [email protected]/fzarchive - (note there is no "s" at the end of archive).

Remember these donations are deductible on your tax return as the Archives is a non profit entity.

Revised 1/4/01

Gallery of Flyers

  • a September 1986 letter, printed in Southern Enclave #13

    a September 1986 letter, printed in Southern Enclave #13

  • from Datazine #45 (December 1986), click to read

    from Datazine #45 (December 1986), click to read

  • part of the flyer printed in Southern Enclave #14 (December 1986)

    part of the flyer printed in Southern Enclave #14 (December 1986)

  • part of the flyer printed in Southern Enclave #14 (December 1986)

    part of the flyer printed in Southern Enclave #14 (December 1986)

  • a cartoon, one which announces that the library would stop accepting orders as of December 1987

    a cartoon, one which announces that the library would stop accepting orders as of December 1987

  • flyer printed in Southern Enclave #24, explaining the rules of the now "The Corellian Archives" (November 1989)

    flyer printed in Southern Enclave #24, explaining the rules of the now "The Corellian Archives" (November 1989)

  • flyer printed in Southern Enclave #24, announcing the re-opening of the library, now called "The Corellian Archives" (December 1989)

    flyer printed in Southern Enclave #24, announcing the re-opening of the library, now called "The Corellian Archives" (December 1989)

  • a 1990 flyer printed in The Wookiee Commode #7

    a 1990 flyer printed in The Wookiee Commode #7

  • letter from Ming, included in Southern Enclave #25 (March 1990), welcoming fans to the library; while "Corellian Archives" is printed at the top, Ming refers to this service as "the Science fiction Fan Zine circulating Library"

    letter from Ming, included in Southern Enclave #25 (March 1990), welcoming fans to the library; while "Corellian Archives" is printed at the top, Ming refers to this service as "the Science fiction Fan Zine circulating Library"

  • a list of holdings in 1990, printed in Southern Enclave #25

    a list of holdings in 1990, printed in Southern Enclave #25

  • 1990 sample order form, printed in Southern Enclave #25

    1990 sample order form, printed in Southern Enclave #25

  • 1990: "Library Functioning," printed in Southern Enclave #25

    1990: "Library Functioning," printed in Southern Enclave #25

  • 1990: detailed library instruction, printed in Southern Enclave #25

    1990: detailed library instruction, printed in Southern Enclave #25

  • 1991 ad, published in The Blackwood Project #11

    1991 ad, published in The Blackwood Project #11

  • a flyer from On the Double #22 (March 1992)

    a flyer from On the Double #22 (March 1992)

  • a list of holdings in 1993, printed in Bright Center of the Universe #3

    a list of holdings in 1993, printed in Bright Center of the Universe #3

  • from a flyer in Bright Center of the Universe #8, 1998, click to read

    from a flyer in Bright Center of the Universe #8, 1998, click to read

  • flyer from 1999

    flyer from 1999

  • 2001 flyer

    2001 flyer

  • flyer from the 2002 Escapade program book

    flyer from the 2002 Escapade program book

Fan Comments

‘Why go to all the trouble to run a zine library?’ 'Coming into fandom a little late (1980), I missed many of the early SW fanzines, those incredible first efforts. Oh, I had heard of fanzines, as any Trek fan had, but I’d never seen one. Then, at my first convention I discovered a SW fanzine. I was hooked! I had to have more, read more - I wanted it all. Alas, economics prevented me from acquiring more than just a few, although thanks to the generosity of a new friend in fandom, I was able to read some of the ones I’d missed. Whenever I could lay my hands on a 'zine I hadn’t seen before, I was like a person dying of thirst finding water in the desert (a bit melodramatic, I know, but it’s the only comparison I could think of). I would read whatever I found from cover to cover In record time, not thinking that I should savor the moment, make it last, for I didn’t know when I’d get another one… Now, I have a chance to finish playing catch-up. I’m able to take a look at fan history from the beginning and at how far we’ve progressed. …SW can and will live on in the minds and the hearts of all its fans; and in all the fanzines, both old and those yet to be.” [21]

No, George Lucas Didn't Collect Zines So He Could Loan Them to You...And Some Other Falsehoods

A fan in perhaps 2020 piped up in a Twitter conversation, and while they got some pieces of history right, got it all mixed up:

By about at least 1980, if your zine met a certain set of criteria designated by Lucasfilm, they would include it in their library.[22] Yes, you read that correctly, Lucasfilm actually held a SW zine library.[23] AND if you lived in the US or Canada, fans could actually borrow them like a lending library.[24] I cannot think of a single entertainment company that embraced their fan base (as long as the fans respected certain boundaries and met them halfway) in the same manner that Lucas decided to do.[25] Regardless of what some of the fan base feel towards him, we truly owe him a lot.[26][27]

References

  1. ^ Fanzine Archives Header
  2. ^ from a comment in B7 Complex #13
  3. ^ While perhaps not a requirement of Lucas at this time and more a courtesy, the editor on a flyer for Against the Sith #4 (April 1979) notes that "copies of Against the Sith were ordered by George Lucas and Gary Kurtz for their collections and the Lucasfilm archives." This statement is also one in the December 1980 issue of Galactic Flight.
  4. ^ from Ming Wathne: "...prior to everything going in the trash, Maureen attended a MediaWest Con, where she was approached by members of the Seattle Science Fiction Group, who came up with the idea of the Library and persuaded her to donate the materials to them." -- from Pop Stand Express Interview with Ming Wathne
  5. ^ Ming Wathne remembers this duration as longer: "The Library operated for approximately 2-3 years before they, too, decided to throw in the towel." -- from Pop Stand Express Interview with Ming Wathne, but this recollection appears to be in error.
  6. ^ "I don't know the details, but after Seattle decided to abandon the project, I know they spent at least a year searching for another organization or University library that would be willing to take over and keep the zines in circulation. However, the only thing they managed to come up with was an offer of storage, which wasn't that much different from simply destroying them, as the zines would be locked away and never seen. When it looked as though no one was ever going to step forward, I decided to take the plunge." -- from Pop Stand Express Interview with Ming Wathne
  7. ^ "Note: As of August 2008, the Fanzine Archives is closed due to health constraints of the Librarian. Thank you to all the fans whose creativity, effort and inspiration have made this project possible over the years. We are considering passing the library on to a new librarian, if we could find someone with the capacity to store the vast collection of zines, and the willingness to distribute them freely as a service to all fans. If you think you are this person, please send a real, paper letter to Ming Wathne" Closing note, August 2008.
  8. ^ 62 boxes of zines were transferred to the University, where they were cataloged. Ming's Finding Aid is here and the list of other fandom Finding Aids is here: Fandom related Zine Collections at the University Of Iowa.
  9. ^ from Comlink #30
  10. ^ from Comlink #33
  11. ^ from Comlink #33
  12. ^ from Comlink #41
  13. ^ from Comlink # 42
  14. ^ from Comlink #45
  15. ^ Comlink #46
  16. ^ "Note: As of August 2008, the Fanzine Archives is closed due to health constraints of the Librarian. Thank you to all the fans whose creativity, effort and inspiration have made this project possible over the years. We are considering passing the library on to a new librarian, if we could find someone with the capacity to store the vast collection of zines, and the willingness to distribute them freely as a service to all fans. If you think you are this person, please send a real, paper letter to Ming Wathne" Closing note, August 2008.
  17. ^ "Wathne Fanzine Archives Collection". 2019-02-18. Archived from the original on 2019-02-18.
  18. ^ OTW Blog Post noting memorial.
  19. ^ from Comlink #30
  20. ^ from a letter by Ming in Comlink #42 in November 1989
  21. ^ meeedeee.tumblr., comment by meeedeee, October 23, 2015, kayryn reblogged this post from absedarian with the tags: #And for the kids out there who think fandom isn't for ppl over 25/30/35 etc#I'd like you to go and read about Ming Wathne#and realize that this woman to whom we owe so much#died in 2010 at the age of 84#this was no teenager who did this but an actual living and breathing adult#fandom history#fandom#fanfiction
  22. ^ Actually, Lucasfilm wanted all zines in their clutches.
  23. ^ Actually, it wasn't a library, but a private collection created to control and keep an eye on fans.
  24. ^ No. Fans could not borrow zines from Lucasfilm. Perhaps this fan has melded the Lucasfilm collection and The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material.
  25. ^ Well. That may true, but it wasn't a positive embrace! And it wasn't "halfway." And "embrace" is a strong word.
  26. ^ Yes. And no!
  27. ^ comments by webwych, unknown date at Where the distractions take my life for their own, Archived version
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