Here are a couple tips that we hope will help you with approaching research on fanzines. We know the collection is massive and can be intimidating when deciding where to start.
- Ask the Special Collections librarians for help (they are very nice and knowledgeable).
- Start by looking at the FAPA collection of fanzines to get exposed to a large variety easily.
- Research fanzines on your own online and note titles you’re interested in so you can see if UMBC Special Collections has that fanzine (they have thousands), but if they do not have it there are other resources that they can refer you to.
- Pull a random title that sounds fascinating because you never know which fanzine you’ll fall in love with.
- Don’t put fanzines in a box–a figurative box that is. While they have similarities, they are all very different and you never know what you will find.
- Think critically while reading them. Make connections (the same names are often repeated) and think about the stories and people behind the writings.
A catalog of all the zines available in UMBC’s Special Collections department can be found by clicking here.
The link below has quality information put together by Susan Graham, a Special Collections librarian. There are links to more information online, useful scholarly sources, other fanzine collections, and more.