F19: Beyond Fandoms: The Digital Ecology behind Fanfiction and why Libraries Need to Pay Attention
Session Description
The Archive of our Own (A03) fanfiction database has been operation in the last 10 years and has over 1.6 million members creating and reading works of fanfiction. In A03, anyone can be an author, editor, book marketer, publisher or content creator. With the myriad of digital social media platforms writers and readers of fanfiction can interact directly and immediately. The digital content being produced is dynamic and readily available for free to anyone with a smartphone or computer. In this session, we will explore the global and digital ecology behind fanfiction. This includes the creative autonomy of fanfiction writers, the ways in which they can produce a story rich in multimodal content and how their interactions with their readers can engage readers in curating and creating digital content as well. We will also discuss some ideas and engagement strategies for libraries might think about when engaging with fanfiction readers and writers in their communities.
Speakers
Desiree Baron, Vancouver Public Library
Biography
Desiree Baron, Dipl (GERO), MLIS is a Branch Head at the Vancouver Public Library, and has worked in libraries for over 28 years. She believes in the transformative power of stories and the library as the third space. In her spare time, she is co-administrator for a fanfiction Facebook page for over 1,300 readers, writers and artists from all over the world. For fun, she makes mood boards for unsuspecting fanfic writers and is a staunch believer in baking as therapy. Hit her up on twitter @desiree_baron.
Samantha Mills, Vancouver Public Library
Biography
Samantha Mills, B.Ed., MLIS is Assistant Manager, Program Planning and Evaluation at Vancouver Public Library. She has worked at VPL for five years, in both Digital Services and Programming & Learning. She is passionate about supporting library staff, and about connecting library patrons with the learning opportunities they need to improve their lives. She loves evangelizing about library services in non-traditional venues like comicons and podcasts, and has long been fascinated by fanfiction - its intricate ecosystems, and the way it can be used to create diverse and inclusive spaces and stories adjacent to mainstream media properties.