INTRODUCTION One of the joys of being an archivist is being able to encounter items and collections whose subjects or creators are often neglected or underappreciated by mainstream culture. Archivists sometimes have the opportunity to make such items more generally known and available and, in this way, to let alternative voices be heard and the vibrant and active subcultures those voices represent have a chance to be better understood. There are a number of ways of doing this: physical exhibits; the publicising of collections and objects through social media or institutional web presence; simply providing increased levels of access to particular materials. Archivists are also making increased use of the digital world as well as to bring collections into the public eye. Archival institutions have been digitising physical collections for the purposes of both preservation and access for a number of years. If physical items are particularly fragile or otherwise at risk for physical damage from repeated handling, an institution might choose to provide a digital copy to researchers in order to preserve the item. Likewise, if an item is 166 Journal of Digital Media Management Vol. 2, 2 166–178  Henry Stewart Publications 2047-1300 (2013) Fandom digitised: Establishing a digital collection of media fanzines at Texas A&M University Received (in revised form): 7th July, 2013 Jeremy Brett 1 is Assistant Professor and Processing Archivist at Texas A&M University. He is a certified archivist, with an MA in history and an MLS from the University of Maryland-College Park. His research and professional interests include zines and zine culture, science fiction and archives as sources and tools of social justice and change. Cushing Memorial Library & Archives Texas A&M University, 5000 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-5000, USA E-mail: jwbrett@library.tamu.edu Abstract This paper is designed to assist information professionals and others who wish to build collections of digitised publications or other materials. Archival institutions have for a number of years now been digitising physical collections for the purposes of both preservation and access and, in doing so, have encountered a number of technical and intellectual challenges. The author is a lead on such a project, one involving digitised media fanzines, currently underway at Texas A&M University. Issues encountered in the course of the project include copyright, the acquisition of creator permissions, sensitivity surrounding creator concerns, the construction of appropriate metadata and the provision of appropriate access to the collection. This project provides useful lessons learned — lessons that similar projects in the future may make use of in avoiding pitfalls, overcoming challenges and achieving success in preserving and making accessible digitised materials. KEYWORDS: metadata, digitisation, archives, access