Question: Where can I find out more about Open City, the radical newspaper from the 1960s?

I am doing a class project on radical newspapers of the 60's and am having trouble locating information on a paper called Open City. It was published in the 60's in San Francisco. I'm looking specifically for information regarding the paper's founders, dates of publication, circulation, mission statements, etc. Any info would be great. P.S. You guys rock. Librarians unite!!!

Answer: Where can I find out more about Open City, the radical newspaper from the 1960s?

The San Francisco "Open City" is indeed very tough to find. All I have gotten so far is OCLC (Worldcat) records:

1)
Title: Open city. Author(s): Bryan, John. Publication: San Francisco : J. Bryan Year: 1984-
Description: v. :; ill. ;; 42 cm. Language: English SUBJECT(S) Descriptor: Underground
press -- California -- San Francisco. Note(s): "A magazine of the arts, entertainment and
informed dissipation."/ Editor: John Bryan./ Description based on: Issue no. 256 ([Jan. 1984]).
General Info: Ran as a special section of: San Francsico phoenix (1973-1974); issued as
supplement to: Appeal to reason, <, 1984->. : Appeal to reason (San Francisco, Calif.)/ San
Francisco phoenix Other Titles: Open city (San Francisco, Calif. : 1984)
Material Type: Periodical (per) Document Type: Serial Entry: 19880920 Update: 20040518
Accession No: OCLC: 18506435 Database: WorldCat
WI WISCONSIN HIST SOC no. 256 (1984:Jan) WIH

2)
Title: Open city press. Publication: San Francisco, CA : Open City Press, Year: 1964-?
Description: Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 18, 1964)-; v. :; ill. ;; 36 cm. Language: English
Standard No: LCCN: sn 94-23141 SUBJECT(S) Descriptor: Bohemianism -- California --
San Francisco -- Periodicals. Note(s): Latest issue consulted: Vol. 1, no. 3
(Dec. 13, [1964]) (surrogate). Class Descriptors: LC: AP2 Material Type: Periodical (per)
Document Type: Serial Entry: 19871023 Update: 20031206 Accession No: OCLC: 16891171
Database: WorldCat
Location Library Local Holdings Code
CA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES PUB LIBR JQW
CA SAN FRANCISCO PUB LIBR SFR
IL NORTHWESTERN UNIV [v.1,no.1](1964,nov),... INU
KS UNIV OF KANSAS KKU
KS UNIV OF KS ARCH/MSS/RARE BOOKS/REGL HIST KFS
MI UNIV OF MICHIGAN LIBR EYM
WI WISCONSIN HIST SOC CLIPPED: v. 1:no. 10... WIH

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www.melvyl.org (U of CA System catalog) only lists:
Title Open city press Publisher San Francisco Description v. ill. 37 cm. Publishing History v.1, no.1- Nov. 18, 1964- Subject San Francisco (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- Periodicals. Library UC Berkeley

Library Call Number Availability Notes
UC Berkeley Bancroft f F850 .O404 Circ status Bound 1:1(Nov 18, 1964)-1:5
(Dec 27, 1964), 1:8(Jan 27, [1965]), 1:10(Feb 10-16, [1965]) Contact Bancroft
Library for availability

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San Francisco Public Library may have the best leads on this. Their catalog gives some notes that include names of people who might well still be around to give information:

1)
Title Open city. 35th anniversary issue.
Publication info. San Francisco, CA : Open City, c1999. Location Call No. Status MAIN:Floor 6 SF Hist Stks 979.461 Op21 no.259 CLOSED MONDAYS LIB USE ONLY Description 63 p. : ill. ; 28 cm. Note Cover title. Issue number 259 of Open city.
Some articles reprinted. "Editor/publisher and loose cannon ... John Bryan"--p. 4. Contents No justice, no piece! / Scarlot Harlot -- Getting to the crotch of the matter / Herbert Gold -- Remember the sixties : R. Crumb looks back! -- A new look at the summer of love / by Allen Cohen -- Notes of a dirty old man / by Charles Bukowski -- Save Mumia Abu-Jamal! / by Mumia Abu-Jamal -- Was JFK, Jr. murdered? / by John Bryan -- Poetry still lives in North Beach / by Allen Cohen -- How Jack Micheline created the Painted Poem Room / by Scott
Harrison. Subject Nineteen sixties. San Francisco (Calif.) -- Social life and customs --
20th century. Added author Bryan, John, 1934- Added title San Francisco : open city Running title Bring back the sixties! Added title Open city (San Francisco, Calif.)

2)
Title Open city press. Publication info. San Francisco, CA : Open City Press, 1964- Location MAIN:Floor 6 SF History Holdings Vol. 1, no. 5 (Dec. 21-27 [1964])-v. 1, no. 6 (Jan. 6-13 [1965]); v. 1, no. 9 (Feb. 3-9 [1965]); v. 1, no. 11 (Feb. 17-23 [1965])-v. 1, no. 15 (Mar. 17-23 [1965]) Description v. : ill. ; 36-41 cm. Frequency Weekly Publication date Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 18, 1964)- Note Editor: John Bryan.
Title from caption. Subject Bohemianism -- California -- San Francisco -- Periodicals.
Civil rights -- Periodicals. New Left -- California -- San Francisco -- Periodicals.
Radicalism -- California -- San Francisco -- Periodicals. Underground press -- California --
San Francisco. San Francisco (Calif.) -- Politics and government -- Periodicals.
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- Periodicals. Added author Bryan, John, 1934-

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Open City (Los Angeles)is not so hard to find - though I find next to nothing about it either, in the Communications databases, Alternative Press Index, Lexis Academic Guided News Search / US News / Western News Sources. It IS part of the underground newspaper collection, so it is in many libraries. If it's not too late, you might be able to scan through it at some of those places - if possibly the same people were involved in it. (I suspect ILL would be pretty hopeless by now, unless this is a long-term MLIS thesis or PhD project- though some libraries DO lend microfilm).

Worldcat: 7538446 shows (for the L.A. one):
MD UNIV OF MARYLAND, COL PARK UMC
AL AUBURN UNIV AAA
AL JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIV AJB
AZ ARIZONA STATE UNIV AZS
AZ UNIV OF ARIZONA AZU
CA CALIFORNIA STATE UNIV, LOS ANGELES [Microfilm=1964:11-19... CLA
CA CALIFORNIA STATE UNIV, NORTHRIDGE CNO
CA SAN DIEGO STATE UNIV LIBR CDS
CA SONOMA STATE UNIV CSO
CA UNIV OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES CLU
CA UNIV OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA CUT
CA UNIV OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ CUZ
CT UNIV OF CONNECTICUT 1967-1969 UCW
CT YALE UNIV LIBR YUS
DE UNIV OF DELAWARE DLM
FL FLORIDA STATE UNIV FDA
FL UNIV OF MIAMI no.1-no.92(1967-1969) FQG
GA UNIV OF GEORGIA GUA
IL CENTER FOR RES LIBR CRL
IL ILLINOIS STATE UNIV 1967-1969 IAI
IL UNIV OF ILLINOIS UIU
IN BALL STATE UNIV LIBR IBS
IN INDIANA UNIV IUL
LA TULANE UNIV LRU
MA HARVARD UNIV, HARVARD COL LIBR HLS
MA UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Newspaper. For Holdin... AUM
MN MINNESOTA STATE UNIV, MANKATO reel28-reel31,reel39(... MNM
MN UNIV OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS 1967:May-1969:Feb. MNU
MO MISSOURI STATE UNIV MOU
MO UNIV OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA MUU
MO UNIV OF MISSOURI, KANSAS CITY UMK
NC DUKE UNIV LIBR NDD
NC EAST CAROLINA UNIV ERE
NE UNIV OF NEBRASKA AT LINCOLN LDL
NY CITY COL, CUNY for holdings see Unde... ZXC
NY COLUMBIA UNIV ZCU
NY CORNELL UNIV COO
NY QUEENS COL See underground newsp... XQM
NY STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY 2(1967/1969) YSM
OH BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIV BGU
OH CLEVELAND PUB LIBR CLE
OH KENT STATE UNIV Local holdings availa... KSU
OH MIAMI UNIV MIA
OH OHIO STATE UNIV, THE OSU
OH UNIV OF AKRON 2(1961-1965, 1967-1969) AKR
OH UNIV OF CINCINNATI CIN
OH WITTENBERG UNIV WIT
OK UNIV OF CENT OKLAHOMA OKX
OK UNIV OF OKLAHOMA 1967:May,1968,1969:Ja... OKU
PA BLOOMSBURG UNIV PBB
PA PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV UPM
PA UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA PAU
TX RICE UNIV, FONDREN LIBR RCE
TX TEXAS A&M UNIV TXA
TX UNIV OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN IXA
UT UNIV OF UTAH UUM
VA UNIV OF VIRGINIA VA
WA EVERGREEN STATE COL LIBR .2 no.1-no.92(May 5 1... ESR
WA UNIV OF WASHINGTON LIBR WAU
WA WASHINGTON STATE UNIV NTE
WA WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIV XFF
WI UNIV OF WISCONSIN, MILWAUKEE GZN
NL MEMORIAL UNIV/NEWFOUNDLAND, ELIZABETH II QE2
SK UNIV OF REGINA REB
AS NATIONAL LIBR OF AUSTRALIA