This document provides a quick overview of how to contribute to the Grand Comic Book Database Project via text files. Information can also be added via the On-Line Indexing feature (a tutorial for which can be found at http://www.comics.org/. This document is not meant to replace the Submission and Distribution Formats document. Any questions that this document does not provide a sufficient answer for will more than likely appear there.

Table Of Contents

• Reservations
  • Checking Reservations
  • Reserving Comics
  • Indicia
  • Reserving Cover Scans & Editing
• Indexing Overview
  • Records - Lines of an Index
  • Fields - Pieces of a Line
  • Understanding Tables
  • Using Other Applications
• Indexer Information
• Series Information
• Issue Indices - The Cover
• Issue Indices - Features
• Full Index Sample (Putting it All Together)
  • Sample Index
• Submitting Finished Indices
• Following Up

Hi!

You've joined the GCD and you want to contribute in some way; whether it be by submitting indices, editing information already in the database, or contributing cover scans. You're eager to start. Maybe you've even dug out your comics...

The first step in contributing to the Grand Comic Book Database project is to determine just how you want to contribute. There are 3 ways in which to contribute information to the project:

1. Indexing comics not already in the database
2. Contributing cover scans not already in the database
3. Editing indexes already in the database

After choosing a way to help, you need to reserve the comics you want to contribute. A quick check will tell you if the book(s) you want to contribute are already reserved. This holds true whether you're indexing, scanning, or editing. To avoid duplication, everything needs to be reserved.

After you've reserved the titles you'd like to index (best start with a couple of small indices until you get into the swing of things), you can start an index. Check out the Indexing Overview to get an idea of what an index looks like, and how to get started.

The format is made up of four basic sets of information, and the first one is easy...it's just your name and e-mail address! We store information about the series a comic book belongs to, and then information about the book as a whole and the story or stories in the book.

Last is just a matter of sending the indexes to the data coordinator and, once the data is in the GCD checking to make sure your data is correct and complete.