Veronica R. Koven-Matasy. Fannish Librarians: The Intersection of Fandom and Library and Information Science. A Master’s Paper for the M.S. in L.S degree. April, 2013. 89 pages. Advisor: Brian Sturm This study explored the connection between fandom and library and information science by means of a focus group and survey of individuals who are members of both fandom and the LIS community, in order to better understand the long-term effects of participating in fandom within this group. I hypothesized that participating in fandom will have in some cases provided an affinity space for LIS students and professionals to learn and practice skills usually associated with LIS professions. This proved to be true, but the most valuable aspect of fandom as suggested by the responses of study participants was social rather than skill-based. Headings: Fan fiction library school students library employees participatory culture affinity spaces FANNISH LIBRARIANS: THE INTERSECTION OF FANDOM AND LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE by Veronica R. Koven-Matasy A Master’s paper submitted to the faculty of the School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Library Science. Chapel Hill, North Carolina April 2013 Approved by _______________________________________ Brian Sturm 1 Table of Contents FANNISH LIBRARIANS: THE INTERSECTION OF FANDOM AND LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE ..................................................................................... 2 Background Statement ........................................................................................................ 2 Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 5 Literature Review................................................................................................................ 6 1 What is fandom? ...................................................................................................... 6 2 Who are fans? .......................................................................................................... 9 3 How does participating in fandom affect fans? ..................................................... 11 Research Design and Methods .......................................................................................... 13 Findings and Discussion ................................................................................................... 16 1 Demographics ........................................................................................................ 16 2 Emerging themes ................................................................................................... 19 2.1 Friendship and community ................................................................................. 21 2.2 Socialization and development/practice of people skills ................................... 22 2.2.1 Management ................................................................................................ 24 2.3 Open-mindedness and exposure to new experiences, ideas and places ............. 24 2.3.1 Awareness of social justice issues and activism ......................................... 25 2.4 Development of concrete skills .......................................................................... 27 2.4.1 Writing and language .................................................................................. 27 2.4.2 Critical analysis ........................................................................................... 28 2.4.3 Technology ................................................................................................. 29 2.5 LIS-related aspects ............................................................................................. 30 2.5.1 Concepts and applications of information theory ....................................... 31 2.5.2 Collection development and readers’ advisory ........................................... 32 2.5.3 Youth services ............................................................................................. 33 Summary of Findings ........................................................................................................ 35 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 36 Future Research ................................................................................................................ 38 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 39 Appendix A: Supplementary Documents ......................................................................... 42 1 Recruitment Message (Focus Group) .................................................................... 42 2 Recruitment Message (Online Survey) .................................................................. 43 3 Focus Group Transcript ......................................................................................... 44 4 Electronic Questionnaire ........................................................................................ 82 Appendix B: Glossary ....................................................................................................... 86 2 Background Statement In the introduction to Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture (2006c), Henry Jenkins, one of the leading scholars in the field of media studies, describes the reactions he faced for acknowledging his personal investment in the focus of his research and “outing” himself as a fan: the insider approach to media ethnography was embraced by many as opening up a space for more engaged writing about fan communities, but it was criticized by others for pretending to ‘have it all’ or ‘going native’ or simply ‘slumming it,’ all terms suggesting that, by definition, academics cannot be fans. (4) As I am, in some small way, aiming to follow in his footsteps, it seems only right to note that I am also writing about an area of experience and deep personal interest; I have been writing fanfiction and posting it online for over ten years, and my experiences in fandom strongly motivated my decision to enter the field of library and information science (LIS). Kristina Busse and Karen Hellekson provide an overview of the terminology of fandom, the catch-all term for the community and community spaces populated by fans, in the introduction to Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet (2006), but the brief definition offered by Fanlore (an online encyclopedia of fandom, authored by fans) may prove more useful: “Fandom implies a community of people with similar interests, participating in [fan activity] and interacting in some way, whether through discussions or creative works. The interaction may be face-to-face at gatherings such as conventions, or written communication, either off- or on-line” (Fanlore). The crucial terms, therefore, are “community,” “similar interests” and “interaction.” Within fandom, 3 there is a subset of individuals whose fan activity is creative in nature: the broadest terminology for their creations is “transformative works.” The Organization for Transformative Works, a non-profit that advocates for fans, defines transformative works thusly: “A transformative work takes something extant and turns it into something with a new purpose, sensibility, or mode of expression” (Organization for Transformative Works). Essentially, it is a new work which in some way derives from or responds to something else that already exists. Henry Jenkins et al. describe in Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century (2009) how fandom centered on transformative works, among many other forms of participatory culture, can benefit young people by providing them with a motivation to acquire new skills that the current educational system does not. Rebecca W. Black (2005, 2008) has also investigated the positive effects of participating in the (English) fanfic-writing community for English as a Second Language students. However, I have yet to see a study that takes a longer view of the effects of belonging to this community by surveying the young people in fandom after they have grown up. The LIS community, which has been anecdotally observed to contain a high number of current and former members of fandom, offers an opportunity to examine any long-term effects in both a general sense and more specifically as relates to choosing to pursue a career in LIS. 4 Purpose The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how participation in fandom has or has not affected the lives of LIS professionals and students, whether or not they continue to be involved in fandom. Because so little research has been done in the area of transformative works, most of which is in the fields of copyright law or media and reception studies rather than information science, this study will hopefully contribute to further research and the de-stigmatization of the fans, and advocate for the young people, especially young women, who are or may become involved in fandom so that they may enjoy the benefits of a safe affinity space in which to express their creativity.