Zines for Librarians

Guidance for librarians on the practical parts of zine librarianship

Some of you may know that I am not only a zinester, but I am also a public librarian! I have had the great fortune to work directly on the implementation of a permanent, circulating a collection of initially 800+ zines, leading programs on making personal and collaborative zines, as well as creating and hosting a now-annual zine fest through local public libraries. I say this not to brag (well okay, a little to brag), but just to express that I have a lot of experience on initializing zine-related things in public libraries. I also hope that this gives me enough pull that you'll believe me when I say this: at present, there is not nearly enough support for librarians hoping to include zines in the library!

When I started zine collections, I found a ton of resources but none were quite what I needed. The ALA handbooks are disappointing at best, problematic at worst (perhaps I'll write a review at some point), and much of the information learned by zine librarians has been shared primarily through webinars and at timed meetings/events I had no hope of attending. And current academic and professional literature on zines is primarily focused on asserting their value as information resources and cultural artifacts; there is very little literature that actually gives working insights on the practical components incorporating zines into libraries, much less any analysis on addressing concerns that come up.

This isn't to say there's no one out there doing and sharing great work! I'll definitely be highlighting folx as we go. But right now, I feel there is a great need for a written, always-accessible, somewhat-comprehensive overview guide on zines in libraries by people who have actually been there. As a seasoned zinester who is deeply entrenched in zine and DIY cultures, I am hoping my experience will be of use to other librarians looking to work with zines!

At present, I will be attempting to share my thoughts and experience in an easy-to-reference format. I actually recommend reading my Zinemaking for Greenhorns guide first, most especially the Zines 101 section. Whether or not you intend to make zines yourself (although why wouldn't you?), having a general understanding of what goes into zinemaking is just as crucial as having a general understanding of the publishing industry! And I will be referencing it throughout ;)

If you have any questions or are hoping to consult about your specific zine project, please send me an email at any time and I'll do my best to help you out (no charge unless you have grant money to throw around, haha): twentytwozines@posteo.net

Thanks for your interest in sharing zines with your patrons, and even bigger thanks for seeking out resources to do so! Without further ado, let's get started!

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