Cataloging Instructions

Below is a step-by-step guide to entering zine records into ZAPP’s catalog, including explanations of each field, examples of the correct way to enter information, and answers to certain questions that may arise while cataloging. If other issues or questions arise, contact info@zappseattle.org. 

 

An important reminder: Since zine publishers do not necessarily follow traditional periodicals in the way they present publishing information, you may need to spend some time paging through a zine, turning it sideways, or squinting really hard to find everything you are looking for. Don’t be afraid to leave fields blank if you can’t find certain data, but don’t assume it isn’t there if you don’t see it immediately. Publication dates, author names, contact info, and other information are most often found on the covers (inside and outside), but sometimes this data can be buried a few pages into the zine. So relax, take your time, and have fun cataloging!

 

Part One - Get Ready:

1. Get yourself a stack of zines, pull a chair up to your computer and get comfy!
2. Open the Internet Browser of your choice.
• Navigate to http://www.zappseattle.org 
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Log in" under Site.
• You will need to log in with the ZAPP librarian account in order to catalog. Contact info@zappseattle.org if you do not have this information. (personal website accounts don't have the proper access to catalog)
3.  
•  Before cataloging a zine, check ZAPP's catalog to see if it has been cataloged already. 
• From the left sidebar, select Collection > Collection
• Put the title of the zine into the search box, and hit Enter or click Search Collection.
• If you find that catalog records have already been created for the zine you want to catalog, skip the following steps and go directly to the section on Duplicate Items in Special Tips & Tricks.
• Note: Sometimes two different zines by different authours will share the same title, so double-check that you've really got a duplicate.
4. Background research: If you are unfamiliar with a zine or have questions about how it should be categorized or described, it’s always a good idea to see how others have described or cataloged it before you begin. Some places to look include:
• ZineWiki
• QZAP (Queer Zine Archive Project). Very helpful for queer & trans zines.
• WorldCat. Some public and academic libraries are cataloging their zine collections so you can find some useful information here.
• (Please add other resources you use to this list!)

 

Part Two: Catalog!  

 

If your item hasn't been cataloged yet, create a  new record. Click on Add New.

1. Barcode - A number one greater than the last barcode number entered. 
2. Title – The title of the item.  
• If no title can be discerned, enter the title as Untitled.  
• When entering titles, do not include A, An, or The at the beginning of the title. (Ex. The East Village Inky should be entered East Village Inky, The) 
• Record the title exactly as it is written by the zine creators on the front cover or statement of publication (usually on the same page as the table of contents or masthead). 
• This means using the same capitalization, spelling, punctuation, etc as used by the zine creators.
• If there is a number in the title (Ex: Inspector 17), you should usually enter that number as you find it written on the zine.
• Sometimes zine publishers change the spelling of the number in their title from issue to issue (Ex: 10 Things Jesus Wants You to Know is also sometimes written as Ten Things. . ). Check the catalog for variations in spelling to make sure it has not already been entered with a different spelling. If there is another spelling already in use, please use that form of the title.
• In serial zines, the title may change over time. If you encounter this situation, include the following in the description field:
• Continues as [the newer title of the zine was changed to]
• Previously titled [the former title of the zine].
• If the name has been changed more than once, you should list all previous titles here UNLESS the title changes every issue. 
3. Author – Always enter last name (if there is one) first (Ex: Smith, John).
• If there is no author, write “Unknown.”
• If there are two authors, enter the first author's name as above and then the second author's name in regular order (Ex: Smith, John and Mary Jones). With three authors, follow the same format as for two, but put commas in front and behind the second author’s name (Ex: Smith, John, Mary Jones, and Pat Brown).
• If there are more than three authors, write “Various.”
• If the author is also the editor and publisher, as is often the case with zines, you do not have to fill out the next two fields.
• NOTE: For comics anthologies, list all the contributing artists’ and authors’ names in the record for the item. If you are creating a record for a comics anthology that has more than three contributors, enter “Various” in the author field, then list each contributor by name in the description field.
4. Editor – Same instructions as author; if no name is given, leave blank.
5. Description – Use this field to fill out a general description of the zine and its features. 
• If in a serial zine, the contents vary from issue to issue, note that in this section.
• Note topics or features figuring prominently in the zine.
• Note anything interesting or unusual about the zine’s physical features as well (i.e., contains an audio CD, hand-colored illustrations, letterpress cover, etc).
• If the zine creator included contact information, this can be recorded here. 
6. Category – The zine's primary subject matter. See Categories for more information.  
7. Publisher – May be a press or publishing company (Ex: Soft Skull Press) or an individual. If an individual, follow the instructions for author. 
8. Publisher Location - Location (generally city/state) information for publisher, if known. 
9.   Publish Date – The month and year the item was published. Sometimes this information is not present on the zine - check in several locations before giving up.
• Enter three-letter abbreviations for month (Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug).
• Enter seasonal dates (Winter, Fall, etc.) in full and capitalize the season (Example: Winter 2002).
• Many zines will have incomplete or no publication info. Please examine the zine and/or search the Internet to see if you can find a general range of publication dates. Zinewiki is an extremely helpful resource for this purpose. Once you have narrowed down to a decade or decade range, please enter a “u” for the unknown year. (Ex. 199u, 198u-200u). If you cannot determine a decade, enter the date as nd (for no date).
  
• If there is a declared copyright date (e.g., Copyright 2000, ©2000, etc.) place a c directly before the four digit year in the Publication Date field (e.g., c2000).
10. Edition – Enter Issue/Volume or other edition numbers if present. If this information is not present, leave this field blank.
• Regardless of how the zine creator has written out the issue or volume number, you always should use Hindu-Arabic numerals (Ex: 1, 2, 3, etc) to record the issue and volume numbers. 
11.  Type -  This is pre-populated as "Zine". 
12. Thumbnail URL - If you have an image for the zine cover, include the URL here.
13. Keywords – Provides further information about a zine’s contents and classification, useful for cross-listing zines.  Take Keywords from the list of Tags. 
• You may use as many or as few tags as you deem appropriate.  Best practice is to include between one and five.
• Many zines will require multiple tags, given their multi-faceted nature.  Spend some time reading the zine (or looking at past records of other issues) to determine the appropriate tags.

Part Three - Finishing up 

1. Adding the record - When you are done with the record, click Add new item at the bottom of the page.
• You will see a message <title> inserted with barcode <number>. 
2. Preservation steps – Write the item record number (lightly and in pencil) on the top right of the first right-side page (that would be opposite the title page verso on a book).  Place item in plastic bag (don't force items which will not easily fit into a small bag).  Fill in a card with the following information in this order:
• Subject category
• Name of the zine
• Item Number

     and place the card in the bag on top of the zine.  

Congratulations!! You’ve successfully cataloged a zine! To continue cataloging, repeat these steps.

 

Special Tricks & Tips:

 

-- Split zines (two zines in one physical item) should be cataloged as one record. 

     Choose the more well-known or established title as the main title; choose randomly if it is unclear.

     Under description write "Split zine with [title no. 2] by [author no. 2]."  

-- Duplicate Items 

• We are setting up a process to handle duplicate items - skip cataloging these for now.