Digital Commons Network^™

No Canvas, No Rules, Francisca B. Ugalde

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This presentation activity is a creative exploration of the concept of DIS-EASE, as in the absence of ease, uneasiness, or discomfort.

Conceptually, I am exploring DIS-EASE in three ways:

1. As you can see, I am painting directly onto the gallery wall. As the keeper of these galleries, I can assure you that this is a big no-no. I mean how dare anyone disturb these pristine surfaces?! The rationale behind my discomfort is rooted in the idea that the gallery is a sacred space, and that these walls ought to be kept pristine so that the objects displayed against them …

Webs Of Proximity And Just-In-Time Information, Carrie A. Boettcher, Laurie J. Bonnici, Brian C. O'Connor

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Disciplinary webs of proximity frequently overlap at the periphery of a topic where interests intersect for problem-solving. Failure to account for disciplinary differences can result in dis-ease – tension that interferes with meaning-making. This can be especially problematic in just-in-time information settings. An unexpected social media case study involving severe weather reporting and algorithm-driven system censorship makes evident the role of a constellation of pragmatic factors that can enhance or hinder just-in-time information delivery. Employing webs of proximity, we probe the severe weather censorship event with complementary bodies of knowledge and disciplinary perspectives. Intersectionalities are discussed through lenses of proximity …

Terminally Ill Documents: The Lasting Impact Of Ephemera, Deama Khader

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Murals and portraits of cultural icons such as George Floyd and Ahed Tamimi are more than aesthetically engaging objects. They can inspire viewers to act, attend protests, and share their own feelings on an issue, whether that be in the form of more street art or something as simple as a social media post. This is often how social and political movements are made.

Street art poses a unique challenge to information professionals since the documents that are created with the intention or expectation of disappearance. They are documents suffering from terminal illness. Their ephemerality is their disease. Per the …

Documents And The Malady Of Truth, Ronald E. Day

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This article discusses documents, knowledge, and truth through a conceptual examination and through an examination of Flaubert's 19th century novel Madame Bovary. It argues that the main characters of Madame Bovary deceive themselves by believing that the contents of the fictional and medical texts they read convey truth. In contrast, the article argues that modern knowledge is constituted by documentary evidence operating in knowledge networks and processes where the result of such operations is what can be claimed to be true about the world through such processes. The representational malady that Madame and Doctor Bovary suffer in the novel was …

“Arsip Kacau”: How Messy Records Are Perceived By Indonesians In The Context Of Document Disease, Suprayitno Suprayitno, Rahmi Rahmi, Dian Novita Fitriani

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper examines how the Indonesian people perceive and construct arsip kacau (messy records). Messy records as documents seem to have the power to make humans psychologically ill by becoming uneasy, discomfort, stressed, burnout, and uncomfortable, all of which are diseases. This is similar to documentality introduced by Frohmann that documents can enable, produce, encourage, permit, and influence a person to experience document disease. This paper uses a qualitative approach with data collection in the form of literature and surveys from Indonesian people. The perception of archivists and the general public in Indonesia concerning the cause of the “messy records” …

Artificial Intelligence And The Preservation Of Historic Documents, Gaute Barlindhaug

Proceedings from the Document Academy

In recent decades, digitization has been presented as an important strategy both for the preservation of historic documents and for giving increased access for researchers to such materials. In the Norwegian context, this has not only implied the digitization of printed matter but also the digitization of audiovisual material like photography and analog tape recordings. From a technical perspective, there are of cause difficulties in digitizing such a variety of material when considering the diversity of media formats dating back to the nineteenth century. However, from the archival community criticism has been raised not only about the quality of the …

Document Dimensions Of Imuseum’S Instagram Posts, Ciwuk Musiana Yudhawasthi, Lydia Christiani, Widya Damayanti

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Social media is source of information during a pandemic. Using virtual ethnography methods and cyber media analysis, this article tries to trace digital cultural artifacts on IMERI iMuseum’s Instagram posts. Digital cultural artifacts that emerged were then analyzed using Buckland's concept of physical, mental and social dimensions of document. The results of the analysis show that cultural artifacts in iMuseum’s IG posts have document dimensions, seen from the physical, mental and social aspects and even a combination of dimensions. In the context of infodemic, through its social media, iMuseum seeks to carry out its role in disseminating information on health, …

Documents That Make Us Uneasy: Walter Benjamin’S Path, Sabine Roux

Proceedings from the Document Academy

The Walter Benjamin Path is not a metaphorical fiction; it is a real Pyrenean hiking trail that leads from France to Spain. It is a border trail taken by people who fled European totalitarian regimes during World War II. Its point of arrival, which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, is the cemetery of Portbou, which recalls the memory of Walter Benjamin who died there on September 26, 1940. Between irony and tragedy, the tombstone takes up the famous quote from the philosopher “There is no document of culture that is not at the same time a document of barbarism.”

In front …

Be Our Guest Or Welcome Foolish Mortals? Disney’S Invitation To Play And The Delusion/Illusion Of Hyperreal, Immersive Documents, L.P. Coladangelo

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper playfully appropriates the metaphor of delusional states to frame a discussion of hyperreal documents present in Disney theme parks and resorts. A brief overview of the literature on delusion in individuals transitions into the collective formation of positive illusions to introduce the concept of play. The conceptual framework of play culture, or ludics, is presented to understand cultural production and meaning, which is further described in relation to theme park design and the negotiation of theme park experiences. This discussion is situated in document theory to explicate the intentionality of theme park designers and the indexicality of park …

The Boredonomicon: A Document From A Speculative Future, Tim Gorichanaz

Proceedings from the Document Academy

The year is 2222, and boredom has been eradicated. In this paper, I present the Boredonomicon, a document from this speculative future. The Boredonomicon is the Infinite Word of the God of Boredom, produced through a spiritual practice by the monks of the Tedia. Inspiration was drawn from philosophical work on boredom as well as questions of document theory and genre theory.

Public Libraries In Norway And The U.S.: Looking Outside During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Roswitha Skare, Noah Lenstra

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Through this examination of trends in outdoor oriented librarianship in Norway and in the United States we see both similarities and differences. In both countries we see efforts focused on promoting reading outdoors. We also see efforts in both countries to take the library outside, thus perhaps ensuring the library’s continued visibility and relevance to the community served. In both cases, library resources and outdoor spaces are woven together, despite challenges associated with taking these resources and programs outside. We also see differences: Norwegians typically consider themselves to be outdoors-oriented people, and the placement of library resources into outdoor spaces …

Uncovering A Natural History Mystery At The University Of Akron, Gary M. Holliday, Lara Roketenetz

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Students were engaged in a combination of detective work, biology, archives, art, and education/outreach to prepare a collection of taxidermied birds donated to the University of Akron by the Rhodes family in the early 1900s for public access and exhibition. Students had the opportunity to learn from leading experts regarding the historical significance of biological collections, proper preservation protocols, digitizing and archival practices, and the urgency of science education and communication for a public audience. Many campus and community partners were involved, including experts from local museums and nature centers.

Translation Disease: Proximity Gone Awry, Laurie J. Bonnici, Brian C. O'Connor

Proceedings from the Document Academy

We present here considerations of three trans-medial translations that have caused dis-ease. We look at novel to film, poem to cantata, and novel to film to television series translations to examine various strains of dis-ease. Upon early consideration, we realized Wilson’s call for a “turn to the functional” provides a means of determining whether a translation is “inadequate” – has gone awry. We then fit the concept of translation into our model of proximity as a way to consider whether a “putative translation really [is] a translation of some text.” Ultimately, we argue that one person’s disease may be another’s …

Archiving As The Foundation Of Fansubbing: A Case Study On Fan-Made Translation Of Virtual Youtubers In China, Jincai Jiang

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Although fansubbing has been increasingly recognised as a rich research spot for several disciplines like translation and media studies, the significance of fan archiving during fansubbing remains relatively less discussed despite its vitalness in 1) obtaining and managing both source and finalised products; 2) enabling fansubbing to evolve into systematic and efficient massive online practices. Based on the literature review of fansubbing’s historical development and the author’s observational fieldwork within an active Chinese fansubbing group, the paper explains why archiving can be the premise of fansubbing and demonstrates its latest application on Bilibili, arguably the most influential user-generated content sharing …

Comments In Tags: Examining Bookmarking Cultures On Ao3, Mikael Gyhagen

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper examines the bookmarking tags present on Archive of Our Own (AO3) through a study into the practices from their public annotation. The probe examines the presence of cultures of practice, and usable research data available on the platform. Examined fics had minimums of 25.000 words and seven chapters, published over at least four months. In addition, the number of individual bookmarks was limited to works with 300 or more, selected from disparate fandoms. The number of relevant bookmarks averaged at 11% of the total, a significant representation in the data, pointing to general trends within the archive. The …

The Truth Is In The Archives: An Examination Of The X-Files Fandom’S Preservation Practices, Nicole Neece

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Fans of the cult classic TV series, The X-Files, are pioneers when it comes to utilizing online spaces for fan purposes. The ‘90s were filled with Usenet chat rooms and fan-created webpages where people could pay homage to their favorite show and do so within a community of peers. Those fans in the ‘90s and early ‘00s planted seeds of appreciation that have resulted in contemporary fans learning how to navigate outdated platforms to pay their respects to the roots of their fandom. For X-Philes, trudging through archival sites has become a symbolic, initiatory rite, acknowledging the roots of fandom …

Creating Threads, Making Archives: A Study Of Organizing And Indexing Practices Around Idols’ Photos On Twitter, Susrita Das

Proceedings from the Document Academy

ARMY (short for “Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth”), who are the fans of the boy band Bangtan Sonyeondan or BTS, are credited with making effective use of social media to direct fan engagement toward meeting fandom goals like trending comebacks, topping charts, and organizing charitable projects on a global scale before such fannish activities had become mainstream. While their ingenious use of social media has been the subject of much scholarly interest, the multifarious ways in which the fans organize and archive information to participate in the fandom are relatively less explored. Building on this possibility, this study analyses ARMY’s …

The Design Of Printed Fanfiction: A Case Study Of Down To Agincourt Fanbinding, Naomi Jacobs, Jsa Lowe

Proceedings from the Document Academy

In this paper, we examine the design process of fanbinding, through which physical, printed copies of fanfiction works are created and shared. These are often bespoke, samizdat, singular objects that cannot usually be mass-produced, and include unique hand-bound objects for the designer’s own affective, aesthetic pleasure. Fanbinding suggests durability and preservation, and printed objects can be transformative works in themselves: designed, typeset, and perhaps featuring artwork, maps or other specifically created front/back matter and illustrations. Readers of these born-digital works may produce these in reaction to the fact that texts are published purely in digital, intangible forms, finding themselves craving …

Fanwork Communication Through Social Media: A Dynamic Practice Of Celebrity Fans In China, Qiuyan Guo

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Contemporary Chinese celebrity fans mainly engage in two innovative types of fanwork communications through social media: 1) digital relays of sequentially creating and presenting their own complete fan art and fiction and 2) dissemination of fan-made non-digital peripheral materials by mail or in person after online showcasing. Based on unobtrusive observation and semi-structured interviews, this paper presents the specific steps in both types of communication activities among fans of two Chinese musical actors, Ayanga and Yunlong, on the Weibo platform. Exceeding fans’ traditional sole emphasis on cataloging their creations, these fanwork communications comprise the information creation (organization), dissemination, and preservation …

Fan Futures—Beyond The Archive: Papers From The Fanlis 2022 Symposium, Ludi Price, Lyn Robinson

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Following the first successful FanLIS symposium (Price & Robinson, 2022), our aim in 2022 was to continue to build bridges between the two fields, doing this through two streams held over the two-day event—the first stream being ‘Beyond the Archive’, and the second ‘Fan Futures’. ‘Beyond the Archive’ focused on the ways in which fans move beyond traditional relationships with the archive to subvert, use and perhaps even abuse the archive to create and innovate. ‘Fan Futures’ then zoomed out from the archive to consider different aspects of the information communication chain—creation, organisation, dissemination, discovery, management, preservation, analysis, use and …

Fanbinding And A Community-Generated Information Environment, Kimberly Kennedy, Shira Belén Buchsbaum

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Fanbinding is the practice of printing and binding fanfiction and other fanworks in codex form either by hand or using online print services. In June 2020, fanbinder ArmoredSuperHeavy created Renegade Bindery, a Discord server for fanbinders of any experience to gather, discuss, and exchange resources, advice, and files to support one another’s artistic object-making. The foundation of Renegade Bindery generated an increase in community-oriented practices in online spaces that support fanbound work creation. In the last two years, the bindery has grown to over 900 members and offers an increasing number of channels dedicated to databases, exchanges, and community events, …