Electronic resources on science fiction and its related genres of fantasy and horror can be found on a number of different Library of Congress systems. Interested Internet users might also want to browse the Library's online catalogs (locis.loc.gov) by using their telnet command.
An Electronic Discussion List
SF-LIT, a Library-sponsored electronic mail list devoted to science fiction, fantasy and horror, is a forum for the discussion of the genre from a scholarly, research and bibliographic point of view. While aimed specifically at librarians and researchers, the list attracts writers, genre fans and other participants from around the world who represent a variety of interests.
Because SF-LIT is a moderated list, all postings are reviewed before being distributed to block intentionally offensive and irrelevant messages.
For additional information about SF-LIT, contact the moderator, Colleen R.C. Stumbaugh (cstu@loc.gov). If you are interested in subscribing to SF-LIT send the following message to listserv@loc.gov leaving the subject field blank: subscribe sf-lit yourfirstname yourlastname
Gopher Resources
In addition to housing the electronic archives to SF-LIT, the Library's gopher server (LC MARVEL) contains a number of links to both internal and external genre-related resources. LC MARVEL (marvel.loc.gov) includes links to electronic journals and other texts (these items can be read online or downloaded from a number of different servers), publisher sites, reference resources (such as lists of award-winning works) and related information. Most of these resources can be found in two areas under the menu called Global Electronic Library and under information on What If ...?, the Library of Congress Professional Association's Science Fiction Information Forum.
A science fiction FTP (file transfer protocol) site is under construction to complement the Library's gopher site. In the meantime, LC MARVEL is home to several useful text files, including a regularly updated listing of those Pulp Fiction Collection titles that have been microfilmed and are available for researchers in the Microform Reading Room
World Wide Web
The Library's World Wide Web pages are continuously being updated and expanded. One of the ways this popular site is growing is through the addition of descriptions of specific collections, including those related to science fiction. Information about the Pulp Fiction Collection (//aj.sunback.homes/rr/news/pulp.html) and the Comic Book Collection (//aj.sunback.homes/rr/news/coll/049.html) can be found under those pages devoted to the Library of Congress Special Collections. As the Library's site grows, more resources devoted to science fiction will surely be added.
