By Milo Miller
Download the zine flats!
So I don't usually review digital zines, but occasionally I do. This is one such special occurrence, both because this is post #666 (!!!), and because it is a super nerdy zine about libraries, metadata, and zines. Plus I had to print it out to read it.
(Also! By the time this posts goes live I'll have been at the ALA conference, and I will have seen real live copies of this zine there that I didn't have to print.)
So this is a zine about metadata, and while I am currently in a program where I study metadata (and even meta-metadata), I'm sure most of you aren't. Metadata is data about data, and is all about how you sort and organize information.
xZINECOREx is an attempt to create a metadata system for zines, similar to ones that are already in place for other material in libraries. It covers stuff like genres, contributors, titles, etc. This is like hyper-nerdy stuff, and most people won't be into it, but as someone who used to catalogue zines _before_ I was even in library school, it certainly appeals to me.
This isn't a definitive guide to zine metadata, and it even says so right in the zine itself. Zines are still relatively new additions to libraries, and librarians are still discussing the best ways to catalogue them in collections. In fact, when I go to the Iowa City Zine Librarian (un)Conference next week we'll be discussing this very topic. I can't wait!