About
About the project:
Welcome to Where No Fandom Has Gone Before, a hybrid digital thesis project which seeks to present a Star Trek fanzine archive collection and exhibits utilizing data gathered from these fanzines. The goal of this project is both archival and educational in nature. The archive was created based on the belief that fanzines are important pieces of pre-internet fandom history, and can be utilized to research these fandoms. It also seeks to be an education tool providing examples of how the fanzines in the archive can be used for research and data collection, as well as detailing the preservation process and how these fanzines could be used to create a physical exhibit.
What follows is an orientation to the project.
About the Fanzines:
The Star Trek archive is comprised of two fanzine series, Spockanalia and T-Negative. Spockanalia was the first Star Trek fanzine. It was edited by Devra Michele Langsam and Sherna Comerford using their publication group Garlic Press. The fanzine was a general anthology of news, letters, poetry, stories, songs, and art, and had a total of five issues dating from 1967 to 1970. The fanzine very much set the tone for all subsequent Trekzines, and was considered by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry to be “required reading” for his entire production team. T-Negative is another early general anthology Trekzine. It was published by the Mark Lenard International Fan Club and edited by Ruth Berman. Publication lasted for a stunning 35 issues from 1969 to 1980. T-Negative is named after the Vulcan blood type both Spock and his father Sarek possess, indicating that the zine is heavily Vulcan-focused. Due to the lengthy pauses between published issues in the later years of the zine, the final six issues were combined into three double-issues: #30/31, #32/33, and #34/35.
Two fanzine series are but an infinitesimal part of the greater Star Trek fanzine community, which, at its peak had over 431 active zines. However, these were two of the earliest Trekzines, and two of the most popular. Despite Spockanalia’s brief publication, it was continually reprinted in newer editions. T-Negative’s longevity also provides evidence of how the fandom and fanzine publishing developed over time and grew increasingly sophisticated.
Fanzine Acquisition:
For this project, complete collections of Spockanalia and T-Negative were acquired from two vendors on an online auction website. One vendor sold Spockanalia #1, while another sold Spockanalia #2-#5 and all issues of T-Negative. This vendor stated she was thinning out her collection. As these zines came from her personal collection, some bear marks she or others made.
Digital Preservation Methodology:
Once acquired, the fanzines were processed for digital preservation. These fanzines are artifacts which require delicate care and preservation, as they were printed with low-quality paper and ink; they simply were not made to be long-lasting items. Due to this, digitization is the best option for preserving their contents for the future while putting minimal stress on their physical integrity.
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Great lengths were taken to preserve the fanzines in such a way as to keep them as true to their physical originals as possible. For the complete issues preserved in the Archive, all scanning was carried out in full color. If text was significantly faded minimal color correction was made using Photoshop in order to improve legibility.
Unedited page, T-Negative #9
Color Edited Page, T-Negative #9
For digitizing, the staples holding the fanzines together were first removed, to ensure the pages would lay flat on the scanning surface. Scanning was completed using a CanoScan LiDE 210 flatbed scanner. Image processing, including color-editing and the application of the copyright information at the bottom of all pages was completed in Photoshop. The scanned images were then converted into PDFs, made text-searchable, and combined into single issues using Adobe Acrobat XI Pro.
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Website Guide:
Where No Fandom Has Gone Before is divided into various sections and pages by tabs in the menu bar. Below is a brief summary of each page, with links to the corresponding page:
The primary welcome page of the website project and features an abstract describing the project itself.
The current page. It is designed to serve as an orientation to many aspects of the website project which cannot easily be discussed in the rest of the website. This includes topics such as Copyright and the Preservation Process.
This is where the complete digital fanzine issues are located. Each fanzine archive page presents the fanzines as viewable, searchable, and downloadable PDF files, and fifteen metadata elements associated with Dublin Core. To access the fanzines, click on the corresponding fanzine cover on the Archive main page.
The complete list of sources used in the creation of this website thesis project, cited in Turabian form for bibliographies.
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The exhibits tab of the menu contains all of the exhibits of the website, and involves multiple approaches. The first two exhibits, “"Computer, Analyze": Graphical Analysis of Topical Trends Within Star Trek Fanzines” and “Hailing Frequencies Open: Creating Connections with Fan Letters” provide examples of how Star Trek fanzines can be mined for data which can be put to practical use for understanding trends in the fandom, and how they helped to connect individual fans. “Visualizing Star Trek: An Exhibit Considering Fan Creations Within Star Trek Fandom” is an exhibit brief designed to explain what this website exhibit would look like if it were to be recreated as a physical exhibit. The final exhibit, "Your Star Trek Experience," is an experimental, user-generated exhibit, which explores the relationships, experiences, and influence Star Trek, and its fandom has on individuals.
A list of terms visitors should be familiar with when exploring this website thesis project.
A submission form for visitors to contact the website author with questions, comments, and feedback.
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Dublin Core:
As mentioned above, the Archive was created in adherence to Dublin Core. Dublin Core is a metadata element set created at a workshop in Dublin, Ohio in 1995.The goal of Dublin Core is to ensure understanding between scholars, archivists, and curators in the digital age, when collaboration in archives and exhibits across the globe is possible. These fifteen elements are what is considered vital information regarding each artifact presented. The fanzine archive is not only a functional archive adhering to Dublin Core, it also provides an example of Dublin Core in use, for anyone seeking to make their own digital archive or exhibit.
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Copyright:
Copyright is a murky and amorphous subject when it comes to fanzines, and subsequently to this website project. When this project began there were concerns regarding the extent to which the fanzines in the archive could be presented: in their entirety or only piecemeal. After extensive research it was concluded that the fanzines could be presented as a complete collection due to this website project’s nature as an educational and preservation tool. As such, copyright information is placed at the bottom of every fanzine page to ensure that the contents are not misused.
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Fanzines and all fan-creations (art, literature, song, merchandise) exist in a legal grey area at the pleasure of the copyright holders; in the case of Star Trek, this is the NBC and CBS television networks, and Paramount, depending on the era and series in question. The reaction of copyright holders to fan-creations varies greatly by the copyrighted material in question. For example, any unauthorized use of a Disney or Sanrio character or trademark can and will result in an official Cease & Desist issuance. Luckily for Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, and by extension, NBC (and subsequent copyright owners for the franchise), have been historically lax in regards to fan-creations. This is largely due to the enthusiasm of the fans for Star Trek, something Roddenberry did not expect. Thus, Star Trek fan-creations were allowed to flourish without restriction on content. In contrast, Star Wars creator, George Lucas, did regulate fan-creations by restricting sexually explicit artwork and literature.
On a more practical note, fan-creations are often not heavily regulated because the constitute free advertising for the copyright owners. Fans can even create merchandise to sell at conventions, so long as they do not mass-produce their goods to a degree which would compete with the copyright owner’s own products. So long as fans respect the wishes of the copyright owner, and acknowledge that they are merely borrowing the copyright, or at best, parodying them, then fans can often be as creative as they desire.
Acknowledgements:
The creation of this website thesis project would not have been possible without the aid, guidance, and support of the following individuals, to which the author is deeply indebted and eternally grateful.
Dr. Lanier, Dr. Westkaemper, and Dr. Guerrier – for being part of the thesis committee and providing incredible support, advice, and guidance throughout this project, even when it was behind schedule. This project was a long shot and a dream of a topic, which would not have been possible without you.
Dr. Dillard - for always supporting me and encouraging me to apply to graduate school, you believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself
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The Kretchmar Family – for offering advice and endless support as research was completed at Pennsic, even at the sacrifice of electricity and space in your shop. Your support and kindness made a world of difference in the most stressful of times. Thanks especially to Catherine Kretchmar for your supreme act of encouragement and kindness by introducing the author to Carol Lynn, it was appreciated and valuable in a way that cannot be articulated with words.
Carol Lynn – for taking time out of your Pennsic War to spend time in an impromptu interview with the author. Your experience and insight were invaluable evidence supporting this thesis, and a memory the author will cherish.
Brooks Peck – for creating the incredible Star Trek Anniversary exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, and for taking time out of your busy schedule to communicate with the author and even conduct a lengthy interview. You are an inspiration.
Mr. Howard Carrier – for aiding the author in the copyright research necessary for this thesis project. Without you this project would not have been possible.
Dr. Friss – for encouraging the author’s interest in digital preservation, and for leading such a thought-provoking class about the digital humanities. This project would have had a very different trajectory otherwise.
Dr. Beth – for selling part of your collection so that this thesis and archive could exist.
Tristan Nelson – for your insight regarding digital preservation, archive creation, and how to utilize relevant software. Without your advice the preservation of the fanzines would have been severely lacking.
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Evan Norris - for supporting me endlessly and keeping me happy, healthy, and sane through graduate school. Here's to the rest of our lives together.
About the Author:
The author and curator of Where No Fandom Has Gone Before is Jacqueline Guerrier, a Public History Graduate Student at James Madison University. This thesis website project was created in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Public History.
Important Notes:
While this website project is viewable using a mobile device, it is best viewed on a desktop.
All scans and images on this website are presented for educational purposes only and are not to be altered, redistributed, or used for commercial purposes. All rights belong to the creators of the fanzines, and the creators of the content therein. Star Trek is the Property of CBS Studios Inc.
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