How authorship is made and named: a meta-aggregator / UbuWeb
UbuWeb
infrastructureAvant-garde and experimental archivesactive
The archive's reading. The archive reads UbuWeb as infrastructure that keeps out-of-print avant-garde work circulating by holding copies while leaving rights with their holders and standing with the artist, whose recorded act is the request for removal. How it names a maker, and so what a collapse of names would lose there, is not shown in the saved sources; its author and work records are unread.
| Relation to this census | infrastructure |
|---|---|
| Record type | archive |
| The question it answers | availability and holding terms: whether an out-of-print avant-garde work circulates freely there, and on what terms the archive holds it |
| Kind | archive: in its own words 'the internet's largest archive of free avant-garde materials' and 'an archive, not a blog'; a distribution center for hard-to-find, out-of-print and obscure materials |
| Operator | UbuWeb, a completely independent site run on a volunteer basis by editors spread across the United States; created by the poet Kenneth Goldsmith, who is named its editor (Wikipedia, third party) |
| Evidence | primary text; audio recording; facsimile; critical commentary |
| Unit of record | not stated as such in the saved sources; the home page divides the archive into sections (Film & Video, Sound, Dance, Papers, Historical, Visual Poetry, Conceptual Comics, Conceptual Writing, Contemporary, Aspen Magazine, Outsiders, /ubu Editions, 365 Days Project, Ethnopoetics, Electronic Music Resources) |
| What it records | avant-garde materials: founded as a repository for visual, concrete and later sound poetry, and since then 'all forms of the avant-garde and beyond'; out-of-print, hard-to-find and obscure works transferred digitally to the web; Wikipedia (third party) adds film, music, early internet and sound art, and the Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine archive |
| Whose authorship it keeps | the work of the artists whose materials it posts, out-of-print or hard-to-procure avant-garde works; it posts some of them without permission and removes a work when its artist asks |
| Under what name | not recorded: the saved sources show no author page and no policy on pseudonyms, heteronyms or collective names |
| Who holds it | UbuWeb holds copies only; 'The copyrights belong to the copyright holders, not us'; nothing is for sale, the site is commercial-free and volunteer-run, hosted on server space and bandwidth given by universities and partners with no input on content; permanently archived by the Library of Congress |
| Authorial function and responsibility | not recorded for the works beyond the maker's standing: editors select and post works, rights stay with 'the copyright holders', and the artist's one recorded act is the request for removal |
| Method | editorial selection and digital transfer of out-of-print and hard-to-find material (scans, rips, many from fan-made copies on file-sharing sites), posted without permission where the work is out of print or absurdly priced; hand-coded HTML with no database |
| Coverage | geography: not stated; most pages in English, some in other languages; period: historical and contemporary avant-garde; the site since November 1996 |
| Count | value: not stated in the saved sources; as_of: 2026-11-01 |
| Holdings | the home page's sections, from Film & Video and Sound to Ethnopoetics and Electronic Music Resources; /ubu Editions, Papers, Outsiders and the 365 Days Project as curated sections (Wikipedia, third party); the entire archive of the Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine (Wikipedia, third party) |
| Stated limits | 'if it's in print and available to all, we won't touch it'; 'Should something return to print, we will remove it from our site immediately'; 'should an artist find their material posted on UbuWeb without permission and wants it removed, please let us know'; media is often poor quality by choice: 'an institution or an individual wishing to have the "real" thing should purchase it'; 'Due to the volume of email we receive, we unfortunately cannot respond to them all' |
| Data access | free public website; streaming and download; no registration (Wikipedia, third party); a mirror site is linked from Wikipedia |
| Licence | not stated; the FAQ leaves copyright with the copyright holders |
| Lifecycle | state: active; detail: founded November 1996; Wikipedia (third party) reports that in January 2024 UbuWeb announced it was no longer active, with the archive preserved in its entirety, and that in February 2025 it resumed its activities; the home page read 2026-11-01 states no status |
| Version and time | founded: 1996-11; inactive_announced: 2024-01 (Wikipedia, third party); resumed: 2025-02 (Wikipedia, third party); wikipedia_edited: 2026-09-22; read: 2026-11-01 |
| Founded | November 1996 |
What its record can settle
- whether a named avant-garde work is freely available on UbuWeb, and in which section
- on what terms UbuWeb holds what it posts: copies, with copyright left to its holders and removal on an artist's request
What it cannot settle
- who holds the rights to a posted work, or whether its artist gave permission
- the quality or completeness of a posted work against its original
- under what name an artist chose to be credited (no naming policy in the saved sources)
Kept apart
- NOT affiliated with a university: 'UbuWeb is a completely independent site'
- NOT a rights holder or licensor of what it posts
- NOT a store: 'Nothing is for sale on UbuWeb'
- NOT a blog or a news feed: 'UbuWeb is an archive, not a blog'
- NOT a source of authoritative copies: the media is often poor quality by choice
- NOT a permissions record: it posts some work without permission
Relations
- uses: PennSound (Wikipedia (third party) names PennSound among the partners whose bandwidth donations UbuWeb benefits from; the FAQ names no partner)
- uses: Electronic Poetry Center (Wikipedia (third party) names The Electronic Poetry Center among the bandwidth partners, and cites Goldsmith's open letter 'Ubuweb Wants to be Free' as hosted by the EPC)
Evidence
- self_description (the resource's own statement):
Founded in 1996, UbuWeb is the internet's largest archive of free avant-garde materials.
https://ubu.com/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 1f9ba3a3325f02a0… - loc (the resource's own statement):
The site is permanently archived by the United States Library of Congress.
https://ubu.com/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 1f9ba3a3325f02a0… - sections (the resource's own statement):
Film & Video Sound Dance Papers Historical Visual Poetry Conceptual Comics Conceptual Writing Contemporary Aspen Magazine Outsiders /ubu Editions 365 Days Project Ethnopoetics Electronic Music Resources
https://ubu.com/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 1f9ba3a3325f02a0… - founded (the resource's own statement):
UbuWeb was founded in November of 1996, initially as a repository for visual, concrete and, later, sound poetry. Over the years, UbuWeb has embraced all forms of the avant-garde and beyond.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - volunteer (the resource's own statement):
UbuWeb has no need for funding. All work is done solely on a volunteer basis. Our only cost is our monthly hosting fee, which amounts to US$50 each month.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - copyright (the resource's own statement):
The copyrights belong to the copyright holders, not us. You'll need to seek them out for proper permission.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - not_for_sale (the resource's own statement):
Nothing is for sale on UbuWeb. It's all free.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - policy (the resource's own statement):
If it's out of print, we feel it's fair game. Or if something is in print, yet absurdly priced or insanely hard to procure, we'll take a chance on it. But if it's in print and available to all, we won't touch it.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - distribution (the resource's own statement):
UbuWeb functions as a distribution center for hard-to-find, out-of-print and obscure materials, transferred digitally to the web.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - removal (the resource's own statement):
Should something return to print, we will remove it from our site immediately. Also, should an artist find their material posted on UbuWeb without permission and wants it removed, please let us know.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - permission (the resource's own statement):
Let's face it, if we had to get permission from everyone on UbuWeb, there would be no UbuWeb.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - quality (the resource's own statement):
We like poor quality because we believe that an institution or an individual wishing to have the "real" thing should purchase it from those who publish and distribute such materials.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - fan_copies (the resource's own statement):
the crappy, say, VHS rips floating around file-sharing site -- where we get much of our material from -- is gorgeously primitive, made by fans.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - independent (the resource's own statement):
No. UbuWeb is a completely independent site. However, several universities and partners have generously offered us server space and bandwith, with no restrictions or input regarding our content.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - languages (the resource's own statement):
Most of our pages are in English; several of them are not.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - editors (the resource's own statement):
Our editors are pretty much spread across the United States: New York City, Utah, California, etc.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - email (the resource's own statement):
Due to the volume of email we receive, we unfortunately cannot respond to them all.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - commercial_free (the resource's own statement):
UbuWeb is completely commercial-free and it will always stay that way.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - archive_not_blog (the resource's own statement):
UbuWeb is an archive, not a blog.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - system (the resource's own statement):
coded by hand in BBEdit, all html 1.0. There's no fancy database or back-end.
https://ubu.com/resources/faq.html · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 e9f6bc0f1f987d9f… - wp_description (a third-party account):
UbuWeb is a digital library of freely downloadable avant-garde art , film , music as well as visual , concrete and sound poetry .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_creator (a third-party account):
The site was created by poet Kenneth Goldsmith in 1996
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_editor (a third-party account):
Editor Kenneth Goldsmith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_registration (a third-party account):
Registration none
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_inactive (a third-party account):
In January 2024, UbuWeb announced it was no longer active, posting: "As of 2024, UbuWeb is no longer active. The archive is preserved for perpetuity, in its entirety".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_resumed (a third-party account):
In February 2025 the site resumed its activities, citing the "political changes in America and elsewhere around the world" as a reason to be active again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_tellus (a third-party account):
It houses and distributes freely the entire archive of the Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine project.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_sections (a third-party account):
Beyond its repository of works, UbuWeb features curated sections including /ubu Editions book-length editions of contemporary poetry , selected and introduced by the poet Brian Kim Stefans .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_partners (a third-party account):
benefiting from bandwidth donations from its partnerships with GreyLodge, WFMU , PennSound , The Electronic Poetry Center , The Center for Literary Computing, and ArtMob.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09… - wp_edited (a third-party account):
This page was last edited on 22 September 2026, at 06:39 (UTC) .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuWeb · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 50efb0eb7d707f09…
Unchecked
the home page saved text is a menu and two sentences (456 characters); the sections themselves were not read; the About page, the manifesto, the masthead, the board of directors and the partners page linked from the FAQ; any author or artist page, so how UbuWeb names a work's maker is not shown; the January 2024 inactivity notice and the February 2025 return on UbuWeb's own pages (known here only from Wikipedia)
Cite: Lee Sharks, ed. "UbuWeb." How authorship is made and named: a meta-aggregator, leesharks.com, compiled 2026-11-01. https://www.leesharks.com/apparatus/aggregators/ubuweb