chujo-hime:

megkips:

thebyrchentwigges:

As we sit on the cusp of changes to the Internet, after your other activities to support Internet freedom, archive your
fandom stuff.

Save the electronic files of your favorite online fandom works. Consider print-outs of your favorite online
material. And save paper
ephemera from fandom events.

Why save? Because you put the effort into a fanwork. Because you may be surprised when a fandom stays alive for years, or gets revived, or when an academic asks to cite your work. Because it’s stupidly hard to find items on Tumblr. Because, lo, in ages past, many fandom archives have risen and fallen, taking favorite fics off the ‘Net. Because it made you happy, makes you remember. Because you never know.

What can
you save?

• Fanart
• Stories you wrote
• Epic comments on stories you wrote
• Stories you love that other people wrote
• Meta and meta-related discussions
• Translations others did of your works

• Physical items: paper ephemera, clothing, accessories, art prints and drawings.

Behind the cut…saving from Tumblr and AO3, delving into lost web sites, how to save computer files for the long term, and why I’m glad I saved physical fandom items from 10+ years ago.

Keep reading

So I am going to add onto this because there is, in fact, a professional archival interest in preserving fandom as well.  I’ve spoken with some people about this before, but here’s the bottom line: PROFESSIONAL ARCHIVISTS WANT TO PRESERVE YOUR STUFF!  HELP THEM DO THIS!

There are pre-existing fandom archives.  Where are they?

• The University of Iowa Special Collections.  U o I is partnered with the Organization for Transformative Works (which runs AO3) to help collect and preserve fandom.  They’re one of the biggests out there.  Here are some of their existing collections  

  Pete Balestrieri, who curates the collection, is the man to talk to about this.  Please consider giving him your stuff!  

• Marquette Archives has all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s materials, which includes a fandom content as well.
• The Library of Congress has been archiving select webcomics, and now maintains the Web Cultures Archive which includes sites like Cosplay Paradise.

These are the big institutions doing collecting, but the archival profession and fandom need to start talking more.  Born digital material is always at risk, and at present, it is mostly Western fandoms being preserved!   Moreover, some facets like cosplay are currently overlooked, and that is something that needs better documentation!

Also don’t forget the Browne Popular Culture Library at Bowling Green State University, the oldest and largest library of its kind in the US! 

And outside of the big active collaborations between between fandom and major special collections libraries, more and more university libraries and archives are offering free workshops on Personal Digital Archiving. If you’re not in school or there’s no local group offering workshops in your area, lots of archives and archival organizations now have guides online sharing strategies, tips, and sometimes even suggested freeware programs you can use to get started. While the guides are typically geared towards archiving/preserving stuff like family digital photos or research papers you wrote in school, you can easily apply the same strategies to preserving your fanworks and other fandom stuff.

Here’s a small sample of resources to get you started:

• Personal Digital Archiving Day Kit (Library of Congress)
• Personal Digital Archiving: The basics (Purdue University)
• Resources for archiving your personal digital data (MIT)
• Manage Your Digital Research Files (Cornell University)
• Personal Digital Archiving Guide (University of Michigan) 
• Preserve Your Personal Heritage (Bowling Green State University)
• Personal Digital Archiving (University of Montana)