POSTER SLIDE

Cataloguing Outside the Lines: Archiving Alternative Media

Sylvie Freedman, Preston Nelson, Stefany Merkelbach

Brief History of Film Archives

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-Earliest mention of Film Archives in 1898

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-20th Century Film Archives

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-Film Studies Boom

What Are Folksonomies?

-Folksonomies: “A user-generated system of classifying and organizing online content into different categories by the use of metadata such as electronic tags.”

-Examples of folksonomies outside of film cataloguing

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Image Sourced from Pexels.com

Folksonomies and Films

-Improvements to user-material interaction

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-User searching and retrieving

-Allows for more diverse cataloguing

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-Examples of Films and Folksonomies

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-But how do folksonomies fall short?

Image Sourced from Pexels.com

The Future of Folksonomies, Films, Fandoms, and Lost Media

-Streaming and Loss of Digital Media

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-Fan-created content derived from film

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Image Sourced from Pexels.com

Zines In The Library: Definitions

• Pronounced ZEEN
• A zine is a small circulation book that is self-published.
• Zines can be published in a series of volumes, similar to the nature of a periodical.
• Zines have no limitations in subject matter or physical format.
• They are often created by marginalized communities and have roots in political activism.

• Cartoonists have long published their own comics in zine format.
• Allows for content that would otherwise be censored by mainstream media.
• Comics that do not wish to abide by publishing guidelines or the Comics Code Authority or often labeled underground comix.
• Growing popularity in the United States during the 1960 and 1970s, but underground comix remain at large today.

Underground Comix

Queer Sailors #3, Kel Karpinski

On The Shelf

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• This research will focus on zines within library spaces.
• The fact that archives are less frequently open to the public provides necessary context to the discussion.
• Where should a zine physically reside within a library?
• It is best to give zines their own physical space separate from other books and objects.
• This will create a more streamlined process for patrons.

• Independently published comics
• Housed in a special collection
• All items feature illustrative comics work
• The collection is labeled as “Comics, Special Collections”
• Browsable without a request for special access
• Does not circulate

Underground Comix Collection at the SVA Library

Zine Display at SVA Library, photo by Phoebe Stoneking

Library Use Only?

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In The System

• Should zines be removed from public circulation?
• It depends on the circulation size and physical format.
• Sometimes a zine will never be printed again.
• Rarity makes it difficult and expensive to replace a lost or damaged zine.
• Archival practice can be borrowed.

• Zines are often created using pen names, collectives, and partial names.
• Authority files can be used to connect authors.
• 110 MARC field, Main Entry Corporate

Causeway #13, CF

Archiving Public Art

What is public art?

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Simply public art is art that is available to be viewed by the general public. Though possible owned by a private art institution it is available to be viewed by anyone who can access the space it inhabits.

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This includes anything from sculptures in public parks, murals, street art and graffiti.

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Many public art works are site-specific meaning they respond or exist in a specific location and require that context to show their whole meaning.

Why Archive Public Art

Many public art works are temporary. This can often be by design, permit limits, or budgeting.

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In terms of graffiti and other street art they are often at risk of being painted over by other taggers, or removed by city officials.

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Most public art is subject to outdoor elements as well, so even if an art project is supposed to be permanent it can change shape and form over time as it is weathered.

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Kaldor Public Art Projects

This is an Australian organization that primarily focuses on inviting artists to create temporary public art projects with support from the organization.

These are designed to be ephemeral and exist partially only in memory.

“Once the project is over, the central actor is gone.” - Rebecca Coates

The creation of their archive happened after the fact during their 50 year anniversary.

The use of the digital archive is as a new way to connect to the public.

Project 16

Gregor Schneider, 'Beach Cells' Aerial Photographic Print

2007, Kaldor Public Art Projects Digital Archive

MementoArtem

This archive was created to create high quality digital cultural heritage objects to archive street art.

Using open-source software to create a structure for digitizing street art.

Used orthophotos and orthomosaic to create a 3D mesh from 2D images and get an accurate and complete object to be able to archive.

mementoArtem - Digital Street Art Archive

References

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Andreano, K. (2008). The Missing Link: Content Indexing, User-Created Metadata, and Improving Scholarly Access to Moving Image Archives. The Moving Image, 7(2), 82–99. https://doi.org/10.1353/mov.2008.0005

Baume, N., Chambers, N., O’Callaghan, G., & Gowing, M. (Eds.). (2020). Making art public : Kaldor Public Art Projects, 1969-2019. Walther König (Verlag).

Berthoud, H., Barton, J., Brett, J., Darms, L., Fox, V., Freedman, J., et al. (2015) Zine Librarians Code of Ethics.

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Druick, Zoë & Cammaer, Gerda. (2014). Cinephemera : Archives, Ephemeral Cinema, and New Screen Histories in Canada. McGill-Queen’s University Press.

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Freedman, J., Kauffman, R., & Morrone, M. (2013). Cutter and Paste: A DIY Guide for Catalogers Who Don’t Know About Zines and Zine Librarians Who Don’t Know About Cataloging. In Informed Agitation: Library and Information Skills in Social Justice Movements and Beyond. Library Juice Press.

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Halsall, A., Warren, J., & Jackson, R. (2022). “Better A Man Than Dead?” Radical (Trans)Masculinities In Comic-Zines. In The LGBTQ+ Comics Studies Reader. critical openings, Future Directions (pp. 277–292). essay, University Press of Mississippi.

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