Edinburgh Napier University

  Since the mid-1970s there has been a growth in the availability of self-published serial material for fans of football teams, science fiction series and bands. Typically, dissemination of these publications is through specialised channels in low print runs. Standard bibliographic tools fail to point to titles and their acquisition by "normal" processes is difficult. Yet in the chaos of this material there lies a heritage of intellectual effort, which reveals much of recent developments in society and culture. Do the efforts towards bibliographic control of this haphazard morass help the serious fan or researcher draw on the wealth of information held between the photocopied pages?

This paper examines the history of the fanzine; considers its status as an item of grey literature and discusses the problems encountered by amateur fanzine collectors, experts and librarians in tracing and managing titles. Case study material based on a piece of qualitative research carried out in the Lothians illustrates the difficulties in bibliographic control with particular reference to the football fanzine.