Now calling for submissions for potential host locations for the 2015 Zine Librarians (Un)Conference, aka ZL(u)C. ZL(u)C is an inspirational and super fun gathering of people who care deeply about zines, their preservation, and their ability to change lives for the better. Past unconferences have been held in Seattle, Portland, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Iowa City, Durham, and now … your town??

If you’re interested in hosting the 2015 edition of zine librarian “nerd summer camp”, please fill out the form here: http://goo.gl/forms/4XUShBBDJN. The questions on the form should give you a good sense of what we’re looking for in a host location.

The deadline this year is early, December 31 2014, so that we can announce the location and dates by the end of January. Please email (violetfox at the gmails) with questions about the selection process or the unconference itself, we’ll be happy to discuss.

Thanks! –this year’s ZL(u)C selection committee: Violet Fox, Kelly Wooten, Celina Williams, and Joshua Barton

Past locations of the Zine Librarians UnConference

For the third consecutive year, zine librarians & their friends are raising money to subsidize a librarian of color’s participation in the Zine Librarians Unconference. Here is the application form. Applications due June 6, 2014.

2012
2013

This year’s conference will be held at Duke University’s Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History & Culture July 18-20.

So far librarians have contributed $215 and $217.25 was raised at the NYC Feminist Zine Fest on March 1st for a total of $487.25. The Sallie Bingham Center will cover the winner’s single dorm room, as well.

Contribute via PayPal to jennafree@bigfoot.cxx. For other options and more info, email leslzine@gmail.cxx. (Wherein xx = om)

You can go to it and edit like a wild banshee! Most especially you can REGISTER for the conference, to be held July 17th-19th, 2014.

Illustration from Sallie Bingham Center zines website

Interested in hosting the next ZL(u)C* in 2014? The Deciderer Committee needs some more information to do the decidering. Although all of these areas are important, be aware that inexpensive housing, easy access from other cities, and collaboration are among our top priorities.

Please answer the following questions (below the fold) and email your answers to kellymce@gmail.com by January 30, February 9, 2014. We hope to announce the next host by mid-February.

*The  Zine Librarian (un)Conference. You can see the proceedings of previous ZL(u)Cs here.

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Purpose: Show & share documentation/documents for collects & maybe even upload them to the site.

Jenna: Donor Agreement

Trying to think about permissions & provenance. Part of the form: whether name or gender has changed.

Getting reimbursed for purchases made in person & with cash (zine fests, etc). As much info as possible about the event (fill it out ahead of time). Buying in person – use own cash and get cash back from the school.

Reciepts: zinesters can fill them out at zinefests.

Legal council on these documents??

Barnard used documents already in existence and modified them.

Getting a credit card from yr library/institution.

QZAP makes a manifesta of the donation. Also using Bento software to catalog which synchs with computers & iPads as a barefoot way to catalog.

QZAP asks for permission to digitize and if they don’t get an answer they put it up but will take it down if they are asked. Have a section on fair us on the site.

U of Iowa: Some zines are digitized. “Memorandum of Understanding”

ZAPP: catalogingandpreservation.pbworks.com

FAIL at Flywheel: Going to have a cataloging party – maybe use librarything. (Soapbox & Jude use librarything). Fail advice??

ABC No Rio: filemaker pro database. Crappy but still in use. (Lesson: Whatever you start to use you will probably continue to use even if it sucks).

Build the database in an online environment s it can be browsed & edited simultaneously and is not on-site. Always backup. Multiple backups in multiple places.

Bento: Can you lock records?

Celina: catalogs in excel (removable fields for when patrons browse). Excel isn’t very searchable. Librarians end up pulling things for patrons.

Celina: Had a successful zine night. Had people make zines. There was a complaint about some of the content. Now they can’t really distribute the zine.

Kelly: Zine machine which has free zines available. Disruptive Technology event (mostly IT & faculty tech event). Made a zine for the event. Factulty have reached out about using zines in the collection.

Alana: has a zine workspace in the library & has open lab hours. Helps to suss out last minute logistics.

Jill: has a zine they made when their blog went down. Completely propaganda. Wanted to make a zine on work time w/work $$$.

Zine as annual report – anticipates making 1 per semester.  Since most folks are not solely zine librarians they play up their zine work in annual reports.

Alana: Sometimes  zines b/c they are “cute” and not technologically advanced get devalued. Craft vs. art.

Celina: Value judgement of zines. “weeding out bad zines”. Bad zines don’t exists. Values for collection dev. Only weeded out zines that were overproduced.

In the “Memorandum of Understanding” who owns the zines???

Barnard Fail: Jenna wanted to include collection dev. that included trans zines said women (cis & trans) and ended up questioning if that was the right language.

Zinelibraries.info discussion

Overview:
MKE last year, session abt zine librarians’ documentation so that all info doesn’t live in the archives of the zinelibrarians’ listserv
At the end of the session, discussed reviving zinelibraries.info
Wordpress site — not currently pleased with theme or appearance
Maintainers have identified headings that need to exist, need for a new theme

It’s not really clear what the mission is for the site
What would help this session:
Clarify mission going forward
Divide up the work

Q: Should UnConference sites be separate from the site, or folded into it?

Agenda/What we want to accomplish:
Mission
Identifying audience & how it will be used
CMS – Are we talking about scrapping WordPress?

This session, talk in broad terms, additional session to discuss tech details

Audiences:
Zine librarians
Librarians & others generally curious about the intersection of zines & librarianship, zine collections
Librarians who work in cataloging, tech services (& other more conventional areas of librarianship)

How the site relates to the We Make Zines zine librarian group?
People who use the WMZ site tend not to be zine librarians

We would like to see it be a document repository
Documentation to help us not reinvent the wheel
Moving 5 yrs of different wikis into a single space
Member directory
[Identity/branding for zine librarians as a whole]
Programming ideas/documentation
Place where people can give themselves shout-outs, report on the cool stuff they’re doing — showcase or show and tell
Centralized repository or aggregator so we’re not just posting to disparate sites like FB

You have to opt-in to be on a listserv, but anyone can go to the website — listserv can be helpful for asking questions (though this happens on the Rad Ref website, too)
Value of the listserv is the delivery of content into your inbox
Keep the email list

Q: Any more input about the site?

Links to other resources – We don’t need to duplicate Jerianne’s Zine World site – directory of zine librarians
FAQ

Work process this year
Collectively-shared website – maintainers were hesitant to change it on their own/independently
Not sure about next steps, after discovering flaws
We could leave it in WordPress, try to make it do what we want to do, and if it can’t then consider switching platforms
What if the work team got bigger? Shared responsibility?
Would help to parse out – someone would be responsible for look & feel, someone could be responsible for content, someone could be responsible for adding members & welcoming them

Delineating what we need volunteers for:
Figuring out WordPress theme
Banner art
Managing users
Having some instructional material about how to use WordPress
UnConference sites — Mediawiki install & use that in addition to the WordPress site?
Organizing the stuff that’s already on the site/or is related and exists elsewhere
Determining headers, architecture

Volunteers for categories:
Wordpress theme – Celina & Mackenzie* – Elvis & Milo should be included
Banner art – Elvis* & Milo
Managing users – Violet* & Jenna
How-to-use-the-site documentation – table this until site is done / Erica?
Incorporating old content – this can happen later
Architecture – Celina* & Jude & Erica

Honor is willing to give added assistance later
Jude will get programming content ready

Alycia, Kelly & Nicki should be in on all of the conversations happening in the groups

*will send the first email to get things rolling

Notes by Alana