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Cataloging Instructions

This version was saved 13 years, 11 months ago View current version     Page history
Saved by Tom Heuser
on April 21, 2010 at 3:32:32 pm
 

Below is a step-by-step guide to entering zine records into ZAPP’s catalog that Abby wrote back when we first created the database.  I’ve tried to include explanations of each field, examples of the correct way to enter information, and answers to certain questions that may arise while cataloging. However, there will surely be other issues that are not addressed here, and we are still in the process of developing best practices for some of these steps. We need your feedback to help figure out what will be the most useful system for us and our users. So please make comments and leave notes on the wiki where appropriate.

 

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!

 

1.      Get yourself a stack of zines, pull a chair up to the computer and get comfy!

2.      Open the Internet Browser of your choice (Mozilla or Internet Explorer).

 

·         Click on the ZAPP Catalog link (at the top in Mozilla Firefox or in the Favorites Sidebar in Internet Explorer)

 

·        You will now be directed to login with a username and password. Please see the Volunteer Handbook for this information or contact Nora.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before cataloging a zine, make sure it has not been cataloged already. To do this, search ZAPP’s catalog.

·         Select “Basic Search” from the ZAPP catalog start page.

·         In the title field, enter the title of the zine, then click “Search” or press “Enter”. You must enter the title exactly as it is spelled, including spacing and numerals. Title search only works for exact searches; it cannot do keyword searches. Additionally, the “keyword” field does not search the title field, so it is not helpful for looking up known items.

·         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 “Cloning” in Special Tips & Tricks.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sometimes completely different Zines written by different people will coincidentally share the same title, so double-check that the records you are viewing match the zine you have in your hands before you skip ahead to the cloning directions.

3.      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 & academic libraries are cataloging their zine collections so you can find some useful info here
  • Please add other resources you use to this list!

4.      After you've searched ZAPP's catalog and haven't found the item you want to catalog already in the system, it's time to create a new record. From the main ZAPP catalog page, select "Update Catalog." This will take you to a page of blank fields to be filled.

5.      Title – Quite simply, the title of the item. If there appears to be no title, just write “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)

·         Please try to record the title as it is written by the zine creators on the front cover or any 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 enter that number as you find it written on the zine. However, 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. Once you choose a spelling, STICK WITH IT. Do not change it from issue to issue regardless of whether or not the zine creator changes the spelling.

·         Another issue that may arise with zine titles is that they may change over time. To help people who are searching for earlier or later issues of the zine with a different title, please include the following in the description field:

1.      Continues as [the newer title of the zine was changed to]

2.      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. There are some zines that do not have a standard title and constantly change; it is impossible for us to list all the titles.

6.      Publication Date – The month and year the item was published. In many cases, this information will not be present anywhere on the zine. It usually can be found on the front & back covers, or on the inside front & back covers. Look in several places before you give up.

·         Enter three-letter abbreviations for month (Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug).

·         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). Do not place brackets (e.g., [1973]) around dates for those dates supplied by the cataloger.

·         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).

 

 

7.      Issue & Volume Number – Enter an issue and a volume number in the correct fields if they are present. If not, leave these fields 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. Do not use Roman numerals, or write out the number.

8.      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, we 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.

9.      Editor – Same instructions as author, but you don’t have to enter “Unknown” if no editor name is given.

10.  Publisher – May be a press or publishing company (Ex: Soft Skull Press) or an individual. If an individual, follow the instructions for author. Add city and state of publisher if this information is available (e.g., Soft Skull Press : New York, NY).

11.  Category – Refers to the physical location where the zine is primarily shelved. You can scroll down a pull-down menu to select a category, or type in the first few letters.

12.  Sub-Category – Provides further information about a zine’s contents and classification, useful for cross-listing zines. When you select a category in step 11, the database will automatically pull up a list of pre-determined sub-categories that are associated with that main category.

·         You may select up to three sub-categories. You must select at least one sub-category.

·         NOTE: Most zines will require at least one sub-category, given their multi-faceted nature. Many of our zines are shelved in one section for convenience’s sake and could just as easily be located in another section (for example, Cometbus is shelved under “Personal,” but could also be at home in “Travel” or “Music”). By adding detailed and accurate sub-category listings, you ensure that future database users will be able to find more zines pertaining to their subject searches than they would by simply browsing our shelves. Feel free to spend some time reading the zine (or looking at past records of other issues) to determine the appropriate sub-categories.

13.  Format – A list of common zine formats. Includes zine dimensions and publishing methods. “Mini” refers to zines ¼ letter paper size (4.25” x 5.5”­) and smaller. “Tabloid” refers to zines published on newsprint.  If the Zine is printed with a lazer printer, list it as photocopy and add "lazer printer" in the description field.  If the zine is screen printed, list it as offset and add "screen printed" to the description.

14.  Description – A description of the zine’s contents. You may use this field to fill out a general description of the zine and its features, in which case, you may only want to fill out this field for the first issue of a particular zine. If the contents vary from issue to issue, you may want to note that in this section. More detailed entries will produce more hits for searchers using the keyword search function, so please use this section to note topics or features figuring prominently in the zine. This is also a good place to note anything interesting or unusual about the zine’s physical features as well (i.e., contains an audio CD, hand-colored illustrations, etc).

15.  Contact Info – Can include mail addresses, email, and phone numbers. Write down whatever’s there that could potentially be useful and don’t worry if it’s out of date.

16.  Circulation Status   This is a holdover from the days when we thought ZAPP's collection would circulate. At present we are using it only to show whether an item is on shelf, in storage, or in the archive.

  • When you come across a zine that has three copies in the Circulation Status field designate the first copy of the zine "On Shelf"; the second copy as "In Storage"; and the third copy as "Archive"
  • Items cataloged "In Storage" should be placed in the appropriate area
  • If the item is the first copy of that particular issue, write "On Shelf" in this field
  • If it is the third copy, it will be archived. Put it in the box marked "3rd Copies To Be Archived."
  • If it is the fourth or more copy, we will keep it to donate to other zine libraries around the country. Put it in the box marked "4th+ Copies To Be Donated."

17.  Current Subscription – Currently we only have a subscription to Maximumrocknroll. Unless you are cataloging MRR, you can write "No."

18.  When you are done with the record, click "Submit Record" at the bottom the page. The screen will refresh and you will see a message at the top of the screen that reads "Record [number] created successfully.” This means your record has been saved in the system and will now appear when users search for that item. The number is the item record number that you will record on the label in the following step.

19.  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 an orange/yellow card with each item cataloged and place card in bag on top of zine so it is readable. On the catalog card fill in the following information in this order:  

  • Subject category
  • Name of the zine
  • Item Number

20.  Congratulations!! You’ve successfully cataloged a zine! To continue cataloging, click the “Add New Record” button in the lower right-hand corner and a new blank entry form should pop up. All the information you recorded is automatically saved on the server, so you don’t need to save anything.

 

 

Special Tricks & Tips:

-- Cloning

·         Helpful Hint: When entering multiple copies of the same issue into the catalog, you can avoid retyping the entire record by following these simple steps. [add steps for cloning here] The computer will then generate an exact copy of the record you just entered as the next record. All you have to do is change the Copy Number field to note which copy it is (2, 3, etc). This is also useful if you have a bunch of different issues of the same zine; you can copy the record and then change the issue and volume number and any other fields rather than typing all that information over again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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