Since my last post I've been immersed in sci-fi fandom. A few quick definitions:
1) fanzine - a nonprofessional publication authored by its readers. Each fanzine generally focuses on a shared interest (i.e. science fiction).
2) apazine - multiple collated fanzines, distributed by an appointed Central Mailer. This format resembles today's online discussion boards.
caveat #1) faanish - the social aspect of fandom (conventions, clubs, feuds, etc.)
caveat #2) sercon - SERious and CONstructive fanzines, those fanzine that critically discuss the issues dealt with in science fiction.
extended caveat) more terminology - http://fanac.org/Fannish_Reference_Works/Fan_terms/
I'm fascinated by the passionate inquiry and camaraderie between those involved in these fanzines. However heated the discussions become, all those involved really care about this genre. It brings them great satisfaction to probe the depths of the genre. The amount of work it took to keep the fanzines operational must weed out those who are involved just for a laugh, or to make others flabbergasted. This seems very different than most online discussion boards. Today's online counterpart to fanzines seems much less cohesive, and often downright hurtful.
Also, it's really interesting how many professional science fiction writers maintain their fanzine presence (many professional authors started out doing fanzines). However superficial, it makes the science fiction culture seem authentic (rather than a culture that exists primarily as a means of monetary profit).
I've been studying the Horvat fanzine collection at UIowa in order to determine the most feasible test sample for digitization.
Important considerations
1) clarity of text for Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The Horvat collection is quite expansive. Would it be feasible to use OCR to automate much of the indexing process? How well will OCR work with some of the titles containing primarily handwritten pages?
2) does the title have a table of contents? If no, how will we facilitate the indexing of names?
3) copyright, as is the case with any digitization project...
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I have done some preliminary research in order to ascertain which fanzines would work well for test digitization. Some notable titles I've looked at....
1) SLANAPA - the apazine that Horvat contributed to. Many issues available. "Roster" of contributors on each issue's inside cover. Mimeo. No pagination. Various fonts throughout pages, some handwriting.
2) FAPA - One of the most popular apazines. Good for "history of fandom" research. However, contains unreliable TOC, sometimes no TOC. Confusing collation. Would require much organization before digitization.
3) Science Fiction Review (formerly Psychotic/Alien Critic) - Ed. Richard E. Geis. Many issues available. Paginated TOC (most of the issues). Clear mimeo (consistent font throughout). Many "letters to editor" in each issue.
4) Algol - mimeograph duplication (mimeo), early issues have faint TOC page, paginated. Around 25 issues in collection. Many notable authors.
5) Warhoon - Great looking artwork. Good "letters to editor" section. However, no TOC or pagination.
6) Amra - TOC paginated. Clear mimeo. However, not many issues in collection.
7) Locus - "Newspaper" of science fiction fandom (faanish). Ed. Charles N. Brown. Clear mimeo. However, no paginated TOC of author interviews, etc. No unique content or "letters to editor" from authors. More of a semiprozine.
Other titles that looked interesting, but are not plentiful : Citadel, ComicArt, Imagination, Astra's Tower, Avalorium, Adult Crudzine Illustrated, Incompleat, Lighthouse, British Fantasy Society Bulletin.
This post got pretty long, sorry. I will reserve news about progress on the UI Flood '08 collection for my next entry.
