The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material

The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material was a collection of fanfiction zines owned and circulated by fans from the mid-1980s to 2008.
The collection's origin is a direct offshoot of George Lucas' attempts to restrict fan publishing. When Lucas stopped requesting that fans send him copies of their fanworks in 1986 (when the Official Star Wars Fan Club folded), he sent the zine collection back into the hands of a fan group. 
 
Ming Wathne inherited the zine collection, expanded upon it, and eventually remodeled her house to make shelf space for the hundreds, then thousands of different fanzines she acquired and cataloged. Local fans helped log in new zines, but it was Ming's show for more than 20 years.
The Archives maintained an active circulating library of over 300 fanzines and a permanent collection of over 3,000 titles and became a federally recognized, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and circulation of fanzines.
This collection is now called the Mariellen (Ming) Wathne Fanzine Archive Collection. It resides in the at the Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa Libraries and was the first major collection of zines to be saved and preserved part of the OTW's Fan Culture Preservation Project.
==Different Names & Locations==
The Archives had several different names and incarnations: 
* The SWzine Lending Library (under the curatorship of First Terran Enclave) -- also known at times as "The George Lucas Fan Zine Library"
* The Corellian Archives (under Ming's curatorship, along with The Santa Barbara Science Fiction Alliance)
* Deb Walsh referred to it in 1987 as The Black Falcon library from a comment in B7 Complex #13 
* The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material (under Ming's curatorship who, at one point, toyed with the idea of calling it the "National Fan Zine Library" -- that title didn't stick)
* a 1990 flyer has "Corellian Archives" at the top, but Ming refers to it as "The Science Fiction Fan Zine Circulating Library"
* a 1996 flyer calls it "The Fanzine Library"
* This collection is now called the Mariellen (Ming) Wathne Fanzine Archive Collection. It resides in the at the Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa Libraries and was the first major collection of zines to be saved and preserved part of the OTW's Fan Culture Preservation Project.
==History==
===Quick Timeline===
* Beginning in 1981 (perhaps earlier),While perhaps not a requirement of Lucas at this time and more a courtesy, the editor on a flyer for Against the Sith #4 (April 1979) notes that "copies of Against the Sith were ordered by George Lucas and Gary Kurtz for their collections and the Lucasfilm archives." This statement is also one in the December 1980 issue of Galactic Flight. George Lucas requested that copies of all Star Wars fanzines be sent to him. The zines were "scheduled to be terminated" when the original Official Star Wars Fan Club folded in 1986. Maureen Garrett attended a MediaWest*Con (unknown year) and fans brokered a deal to have the collection given to them instead of going into the trash. from Ming Wathne: "...prior to everything going in the trash, Maureen attended a MediaWest Con, where she was approached by members of the Seattle Science Fiction Group, who came up with the idea of the Library and persuaded her to donate the materials to them." -- from Pop Stand Express Interview with Ming Wathne 
* In September 1986, there is an announcement in Southern Enclave #13 (and other places) that the collection would become a fan lending library run by First Terran Enclave
* First Terran Enclave ran this collection as a lending library from January 1, 1987 to December 1987, perhaps longer. Ming Wathne remembers this duration as longer: "The Library operated for approximately 2-3 years before they, too, decided to throw in the towel." -- from Pop Stand Express Interview with Ming Wathne, but this recollection appears to be in error. 
* The zines resided in an unknown location and were not circulated for two years. During this time, the Seattle fans spent at least a year contacting other solutions to preserving and archiving the materials, but they were not successful. "I don't know the details, but after Seattle decided to abandon the project, I know they spent at least a year searching for another organization or University library that would be willing to take over and keep the zines in circulation. However, the only thing they managed to come up with was an offer of storage, which wasn't that much different from simply destroying them, as the zines would be locked away and never seen. When it looked as though no one was ever going to step forward, I decided to take the plunge." -- from Pop Stand Express Interview with Ming Wathne 
* In November 1989, Ming wrote a letter to Comlink and explained she was re-opening the lending library and that The Santa Barbara Science Fiction Alliance would be involved. The collection was to be "The Corellian Archives." She hoped to have it up and running in the spring of 1990. 
* A 1991 flyer in Ming's zine Bright Center of the Universe #1 stated: 
* In May 2000, the archives got an addition of material from the Fanzine Reading Room at MediaWest*Con.
 
* In August 2008, the library was closed due to Ming's poor health. Ming asked fans to help her find a permanent home for the 3,000 plus zines she carefully accumulated and indexed."Note: As of August 2008, the Fanzine Archives is closed due to health constraints of the Librarian. Thank you to all the fans whose creativity, effort and inspiration have made this project possible over the years. We are considering passing the library on to a new librarian, if we could find someone with the capacity to store the vast collection of zines, and the willingness to distribute them freely as a service to all fans. If you think you are this person, please send a real, paper letter to Ming Wathne" Closing note, August 2008.
* In early 2009, the Open Doors committee of the Organization for Transformative Works helped to place the Fanzine Archives with the Special Collections department of the University of Iowa Libraries as part of their Fan Culture Preservation Project.62 boxes of zines were transferred to the University, where they were cataloged. Ming's Finding Aid is here and the list of other fandom Finding Aids is here: Fandom related Zine Collections at the University Of Iowa.
===Origin and the First Terran Enclave===
The foundation of the Fanzine Archive was the "The SWzine Library"/"The SWzine Lending Library", (later "Corellian Archives") which started because of Lucasfilms' attempt to control Star Wars fanfic. By 1981, Lucasfilms had been telling fanzine editors that they needed to send Lucasfilms two copies of each fanzine they produced that had Star Wars content. (for more information, see: Open Letter to Star Wars Zine Publishers). Years later, Lucasfilms gave up on the idea, and offered the pile of fanzines to fandom. A group of fans called the First Terran Enclave were the recipients and started a lending library.
From September 1986: 
From June 1987: 
The library operated under the umbrella of First Terran Enclave for one year. Maggie Nowakowska announced that, as of December 31, 1987, the SW Fanzine Lending Library had closed. "She thanked everyone who participated and said to check the various fan publications for news on the library's new scholastic home." from Comlink #33
A fan in December 1987 questions what should be done with these zines. A librarian disagrees that the zines "owned" by First Terran Enclave, and now apparently homeless, should be put in a library that allows them to be borrowed through interlibrary loan: 
In June 1989, a fan asks: "Whatever happened to the 'Star Wars Lending Library'?" Another fan responds: "I know that it has been shut down and they were looking for a permanent place for the fanzines. Does anyone have any further info? Linda? Bev?" from Comlink #41
===Becoming Ming's Library===
In November 1989, Ming Wathne writes: 
From a notice in the first issue of The Monthly in January 1990: 
Soon, other fans were asking if she'd take copies of non-Star Wars zines, and Ming started collecting them, too, eventually remodeling her house to make shelf space for the hundreds, then thousands of different fanzines she acquired and cataloged. Local fans helped log in new zines, but was Ming's show for more than 20 years.
In late 1990, Ming starts toying with the idea of renaming the library: 
From The Monthly in January 1991:
=== A New Home with the Fan Culture Preservation Project ===
As of August 2008, the Fanzine Archives was closed due to Ming's health. Ming asked fans to help her find a permanent home for the 3,000 plus zines she carefully accumulated and indexed."Note: As of August 2008, the Fanzine Archives is closed due to health constraints of the Librarian. Thank you to all the fans whose creativity, effort and inspiration have made this project possible over the years. We are considering passing the library on to a new librarian, if we could find someone with the capacity to store the vast collection of zines, and the willingness to distribute them freely as a service to all fans. If you think you are this person, please send a real, paper letter to Ming Wathne" Closing note, August 2008.
In early 2009, the Open Doors committee of the Organization for Transformative Works, headed by Francesca Coppa, helped to place the Fanzine Archives with the Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa Libraries as part of their Fan Culture Preservation Project. Sixty-two boxes of zines were transferred to the university and were cataloged during that summer.
The Finding Aid for the Ming's zines at the University of Iowa.
After Ming's death on December 17, 2010, her husband requested that memorial donations be directed to a fund supporting this collection and given in Ming's honor.OTW Blog Post noting memorial.
==Fandoms==
Why a Star Wars Zine Archive?
From June 1987: 
From Star Wars to Multifandom
The library originally contained only Star Wars zines. Fans asked if she'd take copies of non-Star Wars zines, and she started collecting them, too. When the library reopened in 1990, the collection became multifandom.
==Policies==
===The Opt-Out Clause===
Fandom is never easy to communicate with. When she acquired a zine, Ming wrote the fanzine editor according to the address in the zine (often many years out of date), but frequently was unable to make sure that the original zine editor or publisher would want their zine circulating in the library. She also posted many notices in various adzines, The Monthly one of them, putting a call out to long-lost authors to get a hold of her. Ming was smart enough to use opt-out: her form letter says "if you DON'T reply within xx days, your work WILL be included."
===1990 Policies===
The "Corellian Archives" first opened with these policies:from a letter by Ming in Comlink #42 in November 1989
*The Library is not part of my own extensive collection.
* The Library is not a copy service.
* The Library will be a circulating library requiring a small fee, estimated at this time between $1.25-$1.50.
* The Library will make one copy only of the original zine for circulation, originals will not be trusted to the mails.
* All commitments made to the library when it was in Seattle will be honored.
* Given the realities of the zine world, however, if the zines are out of print and efforts to reach the Editors or their agents are non-productive, the zine will be circulated just as it would be in a standard library.
* It is a hope that the Library will eventually be repository for all zine material, not just Star Wars. We already have some Star Trek and foreign language material.
* The thrust of the Library is to make available to new fans the early zine materials, most of which has already been lost as Editors lose interest and have turned to other things.
* Donations to the Library should be originals or good copies.
* Zines that are still in print and available on the market will be held in storage until they are declared out of print unless we have the Editor's OK to circulate them.
===1993 Policies===
 
Until 1993, zine editors were welcome to change their mind and withdraw a zine from circulation if they wanted. In 1993, Ming sent a notice to The Monthly which stated a new policy: "Due to the expense of making circulation copies, withdrawing permission to circulate an out-of-print zine can no longer be honored once a circulation copy has been made. If you have given permission under the old regulations and wish to remove that permission, please contact me before April 30, 1993. If a copy has not been made, the old agreement is still good."
The Fanzine Archive site posted a list of "Other things you should know about the Library." These included:
*Original zines are not circulated, only copies (except in the case where the Library has multiple copies of a fanzine in the collection).
*Only the zines marked "AVAILABLE" are ready to be borrowed.
* If you want to borrow a zine marked "Needs Sponsor", you must pay copy charges to create the circulating copy.
*Zines marked "No Circulation" are for on-site reference only, and may not be sponsored or borrowed.
* Zines are shipped priority mail insured, or UPS, which ever is more cost-effective. (Zines never leave the library uninsured.)
*The Library does not circulate during the months of May and December, but is open for all other business.
*Zines are mailed once-monthly, on the 20th . All requests received in the prior month will be shipped on the 20th. If the 20th falls on Saturday, the zines will be shipped on Friday. If it falls on Sunday, the zines will be shipped on Monday.
*Zines must be received back in the library 40 days from the date sent, or a late fee of five cents per day will be charged until the zine is returned.
*Zines may be returned by any method a client prefers (US mail, UPS, or other), a long as they get back safely, and on time. Remember: clients are responsible for lost, damaged or uninsured zines, so insure! 
Anticipating services like NetFlix, The Fanzine Library offered users "Single-Request Accounts" ("for the new or occasional user") and Long Term Deposit Accounts ("for the more active user"). Under the Single-Request plan, you could only borrow one zine at a time; with a LTD, you opened an account with a deposit of $50 and you could start a request list of at least 8 zines in order of preference. You could then get two zines at a time and slowly draw down on your account (there were charges for shipping, as well as a small rental fee.)
Pdfs listing all the zines once listed on the Fanzine Archives site can be found here: A - Z Listing of Zines, Star Trek Zines, Star Wars Zines, Miscellaneous Zines.
===1996 Policies===
===2001 Policies===
==Gallery of Flyers==
Image:enclaveflyer1986.jpg|a September 1986 letter, printed in Southern Enclave #13
Image:starwarslibrary.jpg| from Datazine #45 (December 1986), click to read
Image:swzinelibrary1.jpg| part of the flyer printed in Southern Enclave #14 (December 1986)
Image:swzinelibrary2.jpg| part of the flyer printed in Southern Enclave #14 (December 1986)
Image:swzinelibrarycloses.jpg| a cartoon, one which announces that the library would stop accepting orders as of December 1987
Image:starwarszinelibrary2.jpg|flyer printed in Southern Enclave #24, explaining the rules of the now "The Corellian Archives" (November 1989)
Image:starwarszinelibrary1.jpg|flyer printed in Southern Enclave #24, announcing the re-opening of the library, now called "The Corellian Archives" (December 1989)
File:Corellianarchives1990flyer.jpg|a 1990 flyer printed in The Wookiee Commode #7
Image:seflyerming.jpg|letter from Ming, included in Southern Enclave #25 (March 1990), welcoming fans to the library; while "Corellian Archives" is printed at the top, Ming refers to this service as "the Science fiction Fan Zine circulating Library"
Image:1990holdings.jpg|a list of holdings in 1990, printed in Southern Enclave #25
Image:1990directions.jpg|1990 sample order form, printed in Southern Enclave #25
Image:mingse25-1.jpg|1990: "Library Functioning," printed in Southern Enclave #25
Image:mingse25-2.jpg|1990: detailed library instruction, printed in Southern Enclave #25
Image:correllianarchivesad.jpg| 1991 ad, published in The Blackwood Project #11
 
Image:1993mingdocument.jpg| from Bright Center of the Universe #3, (1993)
Image:corellianarchives1992.jpg|a flyer from On the Double #22 (March 1992)
Image:mings1993list.jpg| a list of holdings in 1993, printed in Bright Center of the Universe #3
Image:fanzinearchives1998.jpg| from a flyer in Bright Center of the Universe #8, 1998, click to read
Image:mingflyer.jpg|flyer from 1999
Image:2001mingrules.jpg|2001 flyer
Image:fanzinearchives2002.jpg|flyer from the 2002 Escapade program book
==Fan Comments==
==No, George Lucas Didn't Collect Zines So He Could Loan Them to You...And Some Other Falsehoods==
A fan in perhaps 2020 piped up in a Twitter conversation, and while they got some pieces of history right, got it all mixed up:
==References==
Category:Zine Fandom
Category:Multifandom Archives
Category:1986 Archives
Category:1980s Archives
Category:1990s Archives
Category:2000s Archives
Category:Print Zine Archives
Category:2019 Featured Articles