I had hoped to bring you a little photo journal of some of the fans I knew in Detroit and Ann Arbor in the ’70s and ’80s, but alas, such limited pictures as I had were lost in moving, and there is a shocking lack of material relating to Michigan fandom online.
I promise to get to the end of my ConFusion report soon, but this is instead a call for those of you who have fannish materials — photos, fanzines, artifacts — to take steps to get them digitized and preserved and if you are so inclined, posted online for the rest of us to share.
If you don’t want to do the work yourself, there are tons of fans out there willing to help. Most notably, the Florida Association for Nucleation And Conventions (F.A.N.A.C.), Inc., has a wonderful collection of scanned photos and printed materials and a small but dedicated cadre of volunteers devoted to putting things online.
If you already do have things online somewhere, please drop me a line with the URL. I’m compiling a list of resources. Also please let me know if your materials are freely sharable among other fans.
If you need to downsize and are wondering what to do with your stuff, a number of university libraries, including the University of California-Riverside and the University of Iowa are amassing collections of fanzines and papers, and some of the larger sf clubs maintain libraries, too. Fellow fans bitten with the Kolektinbug may take them off your hands, as well — every Worldcon and many regionals have fan-fund auctions that take donations.
But, whatever you do with your things, please don’t throw anything out!
Years ago, many fans had to worry about their collections being tossed by their parents when they went to college. Now, we need to take steps to be sure they aren’t tossed by our heirs when we die. That’s happened to a heartbreaking number of collections in recent years.
If you have old fan stuff, please make sure it’s not going to be discarded when you die. So put it in your will and make sure the people who’ll be going through your belongings after you’re gone know that what looks like piles of old papers aren’t to be put on the trash heap or used to fuel your funeral pyre.
Cartoon by Linda Michaels.
Before launching her career as an award-winning journalist, Leah A. Zeldes first learned the craft of writing in the pages of twiltone fanzines. Today a freelance writer and professional blogger, she is for hire for writing and editing projects of all types.
Recent Comments