Changes

In academic libraries, and elsewhere, the popularity of zine* (a magazine produced for love, not profit) collections is on the rise. At the same time, metadata literacy is becoming an increasingly important skill, helping people navigate and understand digital environments and interactions. We have found a way to teach metadata literacy to the general public that isn’t super-boring – in fact, we’ve made it downright fun! - First, volunteer zine librarian Lillian Karabaic of Portland’s Independent Publishing Resource Center facilitated the creation of a gamified cataloging interface for the IPRC’s annual Raiders of the Lost Archives backlog-busting 24-hour volunteer cataloging event. - Then, archivist Jennifer Hecker facilitated the adaptation of the IPRC’s game for use in a similar, but also very different context – promoting UT Libraries newly-acquired zine collections. The main goal of the academic-library-based event was increasing excitement around the collections, but with the side goal of building metadata literacy, and introducing an understanding of library cataloging issues. The Texas modification also conforms to the xZINECOREx metadata schema developed by the national Zine Librarians Interest Group, and triggered interesting conversations with the Libraries’s cataloging department about evolving metadata standards and how to incorporate the products of crowd-sourcing projects into existing workflows. Both games will be demoed. * a magazine produced for love, not profit.