Introduction to Steampunk

What is Steampunk?

Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and oftenVictorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction orfantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works ofH. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or digital mechanical computers (such as Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine); these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality.

Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.

Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk. ~Wikipedia Definition of Steampunk

Scope a.k.a The Parts Inside

Scope: 

How I can help you now and in future searches

This pathfinder was created for students and/or library patrons who need a general place to begin in their search for information on the sub genre Steampunk. Because of the complexity and obscurity of this somewhat new sub-culture searching is difficult. Often teens get wind of the movement or read a title that grabs them, but then they are left confused. When they reach out to librarians and booksellers they are often a step beyond them. Librarians are unsure of how to best direct patrons in this field and end up doing a general search and only turning up a few common anthologies tagged with "Steampunk" because it is in the title. 

Notes about search terms (words):

• The word "Steampunk” was not invented until 1987. 
  
• When searching the ERIC thesaurus no such word can be pulled up.
  
• When searching the Library of Congress only two titles can be brought up. Now we can whine over our being excluded or we can done our steampunk googles and search OUR way.  Fantasy fiction is an alternative search term for sites like these but as you can imagine it isn't very discriminating.
  

This pathfinder is designed to help you beat the system and  introduce you to a variety of materials that deal with the Steampunk sub-genre in a more complex then is currently available to libraries. Though more complex in nature then a simple OPAC library search I tried to keep it simply a beginning point. Trust me I had to beat the system  just to create this pathfinder!

This pathfinder covers not only literature. Steampunk has never been solely about reading. It crosses boundaries into a frenzy of art, fashion, decoration, music, lifestyle, technology, crafts, inventions and history. You'll find a little piece of it all here. 

How to Search this Site

• Searching the Blog: In the top left corner of the blog is a search bar. Type in whatever you want and if it is on here it will pull it up. 
  
• Labels: Labels are the tagging system Blogger uses. I have tagged my blog entries with the most prominent subjects. ex.: fashion, click on it and it will bring up any blogs with fashion (aka. costumes clothing etc.)
  
• There is  lot of great information on Wikipedia. Often you will get redirected through links. The purpose of links is so you can know where information is coming from & therefore can judge its relevancy and accruancy
• Finally, I did not compile the book lists, create external sites, nor endorse or condemn any information. My job here is to give you a treasure map and let you be the judge!

The best place to start is the Steampunk on the Web.

Happy Hunting!

FAQs:

What is a pathfinder? 

A pathfinder is quite literally a path for you to find the information you need in any particular subject. In our case, it's the Steampunk movement.

Why use a pathfinder?

This pathfinder is designed for the teen or adult as well as for librarians to use at either home or the library. Therefore, as a beginning point, the bonus of a blog as the medium enables the user to revisit it from home. Certainly the industrious nature of the steam-powered engine in the 19th Century can serve as a subtle metaphor for this pathfinder & technology as a whole. While really great now, eventually it will be useless when something better comes along. At that point we can look to it for aesthetics. 

Is everything about Steampunk in art on this pathfinder?

Unfortunately no. Pathfinders are generally a place to begin. You will find many great resources to get you started and hopefully give you a lot to go on. If you have any questions you should always contact your local librarian, museum, or professor for more information.