Pitt library digs into its archives to celebrate Science Fiction Day

Teghan Simonton | Thursday, January 2, 2020 4:28 p.m.

Courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh Library System

The University of Pittsburgh Library System celebrated National Science Fiction Day on Jan. 2 with its Archives and Special Collections department. At the Hillman Library was a special display featuring original copies of Pulp Magazine, several paperback sci-fi novels from the 1950s-80s and several fanzines.

National Science Fiction Day was the perfect opportunity for Ben Rubin, horror studies collection coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh Library System, to show people that the library offers even more resources than they realize.

“People think archives and think it’s inaccessible,” Rubin said. “We want to demystify the collections and let people know they’re here and that they’re available.”

The University of Pittsburgh Library System pulled special items from their archives Thursday for National Science Fiction Day, an unofficial holiday that celebrates sci-fi culture and fandom, and put them on display at the Hillman Library. The Library System’s Archives & Special Collections department provided three collections for display.

The first was a near-complete run of the original Pulp Magazine, an early publishing avenue for some of the world’s most prominent science fiction authors, said Rubin, one of the curators of the display. Pulp was widely popular from the 1920s to the 1950s and was where authors like Ray Bradbury and H.G. Wells got their start.

The second display was a large paperback collection from the 1950s to 1980s, the “heyday of paperback publishing,” Rubin said. In this time period, many authors began transitioning out of short stories and magazine publishing to write full sci-fi novels, Rubin said. The books, as is traditional in the genre, feature detailed covers with illustrative artwork, intended to pop when displayed on a shelf, Rubin said.

Finally, the library shared its collection of fanzines — fan-produced publications containing reviews and critiques of sci-fi movies and shows. Fanzines would have likely been found in comic book stores and other specialty shops.

“In the days prior to the internet, this is how people communicated their fandom,” Rubin said. “They were one of the ‘nerd culture’ avenues.”

The collection on display at the Hillman Library includes mostly zines from around Allegheny County, as well as some from around the country and rest of the globe.

“I personally think the fanzines are amazing,” Rubin said. “They really capture the moment in time in which they were made, and what fan culture looked like at the time.”

The display was organized before the winter holidays as a way to promote the university archives and the materials available for both students and patrons not affiliated with the university.