Empathy List Archives

zlunioncat@discussions.zinelibraries.info

Re: Zine Union Catalog needs the DZL

kelly shortandqueer

Fri, Aug 28, 2015 2:53 PM

Some initial thoughts for you:*** I'm the co-chair of a big square dance weekend happening in the Colorado mountains over the first weekend of October. In the wild world of event planning, I'm hitting that no-looking-back phase of a process that has been many months long. Until that weekend is over, I probably can't take on too much in terms of action items. I can do my best to join the calls and will definitely be honest about my capacity if I can take things on. Once things loosen up there, I should be able to be a more active participant.*** I'm guessing you know this, hence the request - the DZL has nonprofit status. I should probably run fiscal sponsorship by our other volunteers, but my guess is that there shouldn't be a problem. I'd love to chat more with you about what fiscal sponsorship would entail or if it would make more sense to apply as the DZL directly and then have this be a project of the DZL. Either way, we'll get some very clear documentation about decision making processes, responsibilities, etc. to make sure the spirit of the project stays intact even if we create a legal structure on paper that says something a little different. I actually work for a foundation and have access to some MOUs or other templates we can use. Maybe the three of us can chat through the best formal structure for grants to make sure everything feels good and workable to everyone?
I just joined the e-mail list, so let me know what you think will be the best next steps from here.
Thanks!
Kelly

 On Friday, August 28, 2015 8:41 AM, Milo <milo@qzap.org> wrote:

Hi Kelly!
I'm writing on behalf of the group of folks working on the Zine Union
Catalog project to ask for the Denver Zine Library's involvement at this
stage. As you may know, we've spent the last several years (since 2009,
basically) talking about creating a single catalog that would track all
the zines and which library has which ones. In addition to talking,
we've actually been working quite a bit on this, and have come up with
xZINECOREx as the underlying metadata schema for the catalog. From the
initial spec for xZINECOREx we've hammered out the details and have
mapped it to other types of schema so that folks will easily be able to
get info about their collections into and out of the Zine Union Catalog.
We've also looked a several other open community catalogs, and recognize
that there's nothing quite like this anywhere else.

With all of that as background, we're really hoping that you can join us
as we move on to the actual development phase. We need the input of
other independent (read: non-academic and non-public) zine libraries.
I've been one of the only "barefoot librarian" voices on this on behalf
of QZAP, and it would be super useful to get your perspective and hear
the needs of the DZL.

The other thing we need at this point is a non-profit to act as a fiscal
sponsor as we apply for grants. Because of the Denver Zine Library's
longevity and stability we thought that it would be a really good fit
for what we're trying to do. At the moment we have an application in
for a Knight Foundation mini-grant, and we've also had an offer to
partner with the University of Florida for some of the server and
development space that the project will need.

So, that's pretty much it. If you're interested you can join the
ZLUnionCat email list here:
http://lists.qzap.org/listinfo.cgi/zlunioncat-qzap.org
Additionally, we've been meeting on the telephone for an hour every two
weeks. It's a good and active group, and the conversations tend to be
very productive and produce actions and results.

Finally, I included Jenna Freedman on this email as she has been the
other driving force behind this. If you have any questions please
contact either one of us.

Lots of hugs,
Milo

--
Milo Miller
Co-Founder
the Queer Zine Archive Project
http://www.qzap.org
milo@qzap.org

I would absolutely LOVE to be part of the development phase! I'm so incredibly excited about the Zine Union Catalog and am thrilled about being a part of it, especially as an independent zine library! Some initial thoughts for you:*** I'm the co-chair of a big square dance weekend happening in the Colorado mountains over the first weekend of October. In the wild world of event planning, I'm hitting that no-looking-back phase of a process that has been many months long. Until that weekend is over, I probably can't take on too much in terms of action items. I can do my best to join the calls and will definitely be honest about my capacity if I can take things on. Once things loosen up there, I should be able to be a more active participant.*** I'm guessing you know this, hence the request - the DZL has nonprofit status. I should probably run fiscal sponsorship by our other volunteers, but my guess is that there shouldn't be a problem. I'd love to chat more with you about what fiscal sponsorship would entail or if it would make more sense to apply as the DZL directly and then have this be a project of the DZL. Either way, we'll get some very clear documentation about decision making processes, responsibilities, etc. to make sure the spirit of the project stays intact even if we create a legal structure on paper that says something a little different. I actually work for a foundation and have access to some MOUs or other templates we can use. Maybe the three of us can chat through the best formal structure for grants to make sure everything feels good and workable to everyone? I just joined the e-mail list, so let me know what you think will be the best next steps from here. Thanks! Kelly On Friday, August 28, 2015 8:41 AM, Milo <milo@qzap.org> wrote: Hi Kelly! I'm writing on behalf of the group of folks working on the Zine Union Catalog project to ask for the Denver Zine Library's involvement at this stage. As you may know, we've spent the last several years (since 2009, basically) talking about creating a single catalog that would track all the zines and which library has which ones. In addition to talking, we've actually been working quite a bit on this, and have come up with xZINECOREx as the underlying metadata schema for the catalog. From the initial spec for xZINECOREx we've hammered out the details and have mapped it to other types of schema so that folks will easily be able to get info about their collections into and out of the Zine Union Catalog. We've also looked a several other open community catalogs, and recognize that there's nothing quite like this anywhere else. With all of that as background, we're really hoping that you can join us as we move on to the actual development phase. We need the input of other independent (read: non-academic and non-public) zine libraries. I've been one of the only "barefoot librarian" voices on this on behalf of QZAP, and it would be super useful to get your perspective and hear the needs of the DZL. The other thing we need at this point is a non-profit to act as a fiscal sponsor as we apply for grants. Because of the Denver Zine Library's longevity and stability we thought that it would be a really good fit for what we're trying to do. At the moment we have an application in for a Knight Foundation mini-grant, and we've also had an offer to partner with the University of Florida for some of the server and development space that the project will need. So, that's pretty much it. If you're interested you can join the ZLUnionCat email list here: http://lists.qzap.org/listinfo.cgi/zlunioncat-qzap.org Additionally, we've been meeting on the telephone for an hour every two weeks. It's a good and active group, and the conversations tend to be very productive and produce actions and results. Finally, I included Jenna Freedman on this email as she has been the other driving force behind this. If you have any questions please contact either one of us. Lots of hugs, Milo -- Milo Miller Co-Founder the Queer Zine Archive Project http://www.qzap.org milo@qzap.org