Author Archives: jenna

About jenna

Zine Librarian at Barnard College, publisher of Lower East Side Librarian, Before I Forget, and Unprecedented zines.

IZLuC Spokes Notes: 5 September 2020

Posted on by
Reply

We are preparing for the International Zine Librarians (un) Conference, to be held on the internet October 31-November 2, 2020. (may vary by timezone)

We held a meeting on Saturday, September 5 from 22:00-23:30 UTC. The meeting was facilitated by Jenna, notes were taken by Kelly S., and in attendance were Ziba, Milo, and April representing Outreach and Promotion, Matthew for Technology, Jenna with the Coordinating working group, Kelly S. for Social, and Rhonda, as yet unaffiliated. Not represented: Programming and Documentation. Continue reading →

International Zine Librarians Unconference: another chance to get involved

Posted on by
Reply

As you may be aware, this year’s North American zine librarians unconference was canceled due to Covid-19. While not being able to meet with folks face-to-face in Montréal was a disappointment, canceling the in-person event gave rise to organizing an online conference with no participation costs and the opportunity for international involvement.

We held a mini/pilot-version of the event on International Zine Library Day. We had participation from at least six countries, including Chile and Japan, as well as Anglophone nations and had one primarily Spanish session.

The larger scale conference will take place Halloween through Día de los Muertos 2020. We’re looking for more people to contribute to organizing efforts, and hope you’ll consider joining.

Ziba Perez and Jenna Freedman will lead two orientations on Saturday, August 15. We hope you can make one of them! If you want to help, but can’t make an orientation, let us know, and we’ll try to hook you up another way.

Zoom for Saturday at UTC 17:00 (that is 7am in Honolulu, 10am in LA, 1pm in Brooklyn, 2pm in Halifax, and 7pm in Rome, and 3am Sunday in Melbourne)

Zoom for Saturday at UTC 22:00 (that is 12pm in Honolulu, 3pm in LA, 6pm in Brooklyn, 7pm in Halifax, 12am Sunday in Rome, and in 8am Sunday Melbourne)

If you’re in a location that is not well-served by these times, we’ll do our best to schedule another orientation that does.

 

Fave Codes of Conduct/Guidelines for Participation

Posted on by
10

During International Zine Month 2020, zine librarians will host an online, international event, following by a longer, more intensive zine librarians shindig later in 2020. We would like to set some guidelines (code of conduct, safer/braver spaces policy, open to other ways to identify these guidelines). The coordination working group will propose something to the rest of the organizers, based on the most useful elements from other codes/policies/guidelines.

speech bubble that has words and phrases like,

From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CBwordcloud.png

We invite you to share your favorites here in the comments. You do not need an account to comment.

Favorite copyright/fair use statements in zines

Posted on by
5

from http://fragilemusicgroup.com/blog/what-is-fair-use/I’m posting this to the zine libraries site because I want people to contribute to it, but I should also put out there that the front matter is not necessarily representative of all zine librarians everywhere, zine librarians who add their favorite intellectual property claims and disclaims from zines, or even of myself tomorrow. That said, here goes:

Unless they say otherwise, zines are protected by copyright. Sometimes even when a zine creator declares a zine anti-copyright, you might err on the side of protecting their privacy, e.g., if the zine was made in the 1990s before a lot of people understood what sharing would look like in the digital context. Many in the zine community prefer to consider kindness and consent, rather than strict legality. When deciding what to excerpt or share in any way, think about if it was your zine. How might you wish someone to share or protect your vulnerable, intimate content? We’re not saying never quote or never cite from zines. We want you to. Just be thoughtful about it.

We recommend you don’t digitize first and ask questions later. A bunch of zines are orphan works, meaning the creators are impossible to find. You still have to try. I won’t say anything more about digitization because Kelly Wooten already said it all, in 2009. Anyway, zine digitization isn’t the point of this; it just can’t be avoided when you’re talking about copyright. In this case, I’m merely wanting to celebrate cute and clever statements zine librarians have found in zines.

  • “Copylefted because everyone owns words and I trust people to give credit”
    Libel #18: The Europe Poems by Jenna DeLorey, 1998? (postmark
  • “Reproducing/reprinting all or any part of this zine without prior consent will be considered utterly disrespectful and generally uncool.”
    Aqsa Zine #4 Ancestors + Descendents
  • “All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electric, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. unless its something you’re just doing because you love it and not for any commercial gain. then you can use a little part. you can always write me if you have questions. plus I’d love to know what you are doing!”
    Cindy Crabb. The Encyclopedia of Doris: Stories, Essays and Interviews. Doris Press. 2011.
  • “Anti-copyright: Going Homo may be reprinted at will for non-profit purposes, except in the case of individual articles, grafix, and other contributions copy-righted by their creators or previous publishers. It would be nice, tho, if you mentioned you found it in Going Homo.” Going Homo #3
  • “permission for reprinting with proper credit  given is happily granted as long is it’s not for jive-ass corporate greed bullshit.  if you have to ask about that part, you probably are. go to hell.” Gumption no. 3. 1995?
  • “All material herein Is owned by Its respective creators. So don’t steal — ask
    politely. And remember to always give credit where credit Is due.”
    Queer Nasty #5.
  • “No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission by Julia. You may, however, attempt to persuade/woo her with cookies, beer, or high school handjobs.”
    Julia Wertz. The Fart Party #1, 2006.
  • “No part of this zine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electric, recording or otherwise without the prior permission from its creator. Unless you’re just printing it for funzies & not for commercial gain. \_("/)_/”
    (ascii art reproduced as best I could)
    Infinity Dots. Take Two: Escape from the Bayou, 2016.
  • Copyrights are silly, and we can’t keep you from stealing our shit, but maybe please don’t?
    Brook and Felicia, The Most Important Zine of the Day, 2014
  • Published by Mutya Inc.©.  And if you even dare copy the stuff in this issue for your own purposes and say it came from your own lips, be prepared to stay home a lot, lest I sick my headhunters on you!
    Sabrina. Bamboo Girl #1. 1995.
  • c. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    Dead Inside #1. 2016
  • Share it. Copy it. Paste it. Cut it. Destroy it. Remake it.
    Do whatever the fuck you want. Don’t do it for cash. Credit me. Tell me about it.
    Gravestones/Church Signs by Moose Lane. 2016ish.
  • if you steal this i’ll seriously kill you.
    Scrappy J.: A Story About Fighting by Cassie J. Sneider, 2008.
  • @narchopyright – steal and give credit
    No State Solution by rozele, 2003
  • (sloppyright) Lol rights reserved. Any part of this zine: do whatever without prior permission.
    Undoing Sex: Against Sexual Optimism by Mynwych Hyrryr, July 2012.
  • Copyrights are for little boy businessmen. “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”
    No Apology #1 by Heidi. Early 1990s?
  • All errors © Norman Shamas
    the zine also contains a CC license, which apparently applies only to non-errata
    A Brief Introduction to Fosta-Sesta by Norman, October 2018.
  • Feel free to swipe whatever you want from here, with polite attribution, of course. Or make a hundred copies and leave them in the waiting room at your doctor/midwives’ office.
    Self Defense for Pregnant Ladies by Kelly Wooten, 2012.
  • Everything in this collection was created by Erika Moen. Do not steal. Don’t be a dick. c 2007
    White Stripes screenshot used w/out permission (p.13)
    DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary #1 by Erika Moen, 2007
  • Please do not reproduce this zine in any way, shape, or form. No photocopying, scanning, uploading, emailing, etc. Please do not catalog and/or otherwise add to a library collection. This is for your eyes only.
    [no attribution] 2020
  • Used with love, but without permission.
  • It is time to let go of the ego and to learn. Static is copyright free, and we encourage you to reproduce at will. We only ask that you are respectful enough to inform us of any use. Please request permission for use of drawings by Amy Davis or Danielle Frohlich. Other than that, steal away, you little pirates.
    Static #1 by Nono and Squeaky, Summer 1996
  • This zine collects work building a mad tarot deck. The collages in it are scavenged from folders, magazines, online collections, and infringe on multiple people’s copyright.
    Anti-Copyright/Copyleft
    (well, it would be hypocritical for it to be anything else, right lol)
    A Mad Tarot by Lilith, 2021
  • all rights NOT reserved. any part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any forms or by any means–electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise–without the prior written permission of the producers.
    Hourglass by Ally Meyer, 2023

Please add yours, either right in the post, or in the comments.

Input, please!

Posted on by
1

Multiple groups of zine librarians are developing a codes of ethic (name might change) and want feedback from zine creators, zine readers, zine librarians, zine scholars and whoever all else wants to give their input.

REVISIONS for REVIEW

Code of ethics revision – Access (saving it as a G document to see if that will better facilitate collaboration)
Code of ethics revision – Use
Code of ethics revision – Acquisitions (Heidy’s updates at the bottom, still in progress)

 

FIRST DRAFTS

Code of ethics draft preamble
Code of ethics draft – Access
Code of ethics draft- Privacy
Code of Ethics Draft: Use
Code of Ethics – Acquisitions
Code of Ethics Draft – Subject Analysis

Please provide your feedback in the comments for each separate page. If that’s burdensome, share feedback some other way! You can email Jenna Freedman if you want. The due date is February 14th at midnight your time. Thanks!

Help an unemployed zine librarian (or two) get to the zine librarians unconference

Posted on by
Reply

This year two of our regular ZLUC participants won’t be able to make it to the conference in Austin because their former employers are at least a little bit douchey. Let’s see if we can help ’em out! Paypal your donation to jennafree@bigfoot.com, Venmo it to leslzine, or mail a check to Jenna Freedman | 203 Rivington St. #3C | NYC, NY 10002.

A straw that led to the one of the zine librarians quitting her job: http://judevachon.tumblr.com/post/117781855023/stop

The other one lost her job (after ten years pre- and post-MLS) when her position was deemed nonessential–“But can you help us with department planning before you go?” Like the other out-of-work librarian, she’d been a creative and proactive employee, founding the zine library, for example.

Donations so far: $360 + dorm room

$50 from a research & instruction librarian in New York
$30 from a zine archivist in Texas
$50 from a zine librarian in New York
$50 from a librarian in North Carolina
$40 from a librarian in Illinois
$40 from two wannabe zine librarians in Arkansas
$50 from a zine librarian in New York’s bonus mother
dorm room fee from an anonymous source
$50 from a zine librarian in Massachusetts

Surveys for Zine Makers and Zine Librarians

Posted on by
Reply

Darlings, a band of zine librarians is working to develop a catalog that would contain information about zines held in multiple libraries–one place you could go and find zines and determine who has them. We want to know what you think about that. To that end, we’ve made two surveys:

one for zine creators, readers and scholars

and one for zine librarians and archivists.

Please fill out one or both, as appropriate to your role(s) in zinedom.

Thank you! Blame/credit for the surveys goes to Madeline Veitch and me, with thanks to people who gave us feedback (MM, LD, ES, SSL, MG, E).

Survey squirrels, licensed for reuse from http://3dstage.deviantart.com/art/Survey-Says-263258911
Survey squirrels from Deviant Art

ZLUC Travel Grant 2014

Posted on by
1

For the third consecutive year, zine librarians & their friends are raising money to subsidize a librarian of color’s participation in the Zine Librarians Unconference. Here is the application form. Applications due June 6, 2014.

2012
2013

This year’s conference will be held at Duke University’s Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History & Culture July 18-20.

So far librarians have contributed $215 and $217.25 was raised at the NYC Feminist Zine Fest on March 1st for a total of $487.25. The Sallie Bingham Center will cover the winner’s single dorm room, as well.

Contribute via PayPal to jennafree@bigfoot.cxx. For other options and more info, email leslzine@gmail.cxx. (Wherein xx = om)

Unreproductive: Zines on Herbal Abortion and Menstrual Extraction

Posted on by
3

Here are some zines that discuss or even detail ways to end a pregnancy. Please be careful with how you carry out instructions found in a zine, or really any information resource. Neither I nor anyone from the zine librarians group is taking responsibility for the content found in the zines. Zines do not go through a peer review process and most zine makers do not have significant medical training. That doesn’t mean they don’t have valid knowledge about their own bodies and yours, but, just, don’t be reckless.

Image from Women’s Health in Women’s Hands

So here is a selective, annotated list, alphabetically by title:

  1. Doris #23 by Cindy Crabb, published in 2006.
    An explanation of menstrual extraction is just one part of this issue Cindy Crabb’s rightfully celebrated personal zine. In addition to ME, you’ll also read about Cindy’s grandma, outdoor adventures and the lasting effects of childhood sexual abuse. The zine is illustrated with stick figure comics and drawings in Cindy’s inimitable style. Cindy and Doris are hard not to love.
    Held at: Bako Zine Library, Barnard Zine Library/Columbia University, Bingham Center/Duke University, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Denver Zine Library, Multnomah County Library, Nadine Vorhoff Library/Tulane University, Pierce County Library System, Timberland Regional Library. You can also buy it from Cindy and from a bunch of distros (which you can look up on your own).
  2. Fertility Awareness for Non-Invasive Birth Control, by the Arthouse Coalition, Portland OR
    I’m a sucker for a DIY zine that includes a bibliography and glossary, which this one does. As the title suggests, this zine is more about knowing your body and preventing pregnancy than it is about abortion, but it does contain information about herbal emmenagogues. And if you want to know a lot about cervical fluid, this is the zine for you!
    Held at: Bingham Center/Duke University, Firefly Zine collection/University of Miami, Internet Archive (options for viewing and download), Papercut Zine Library, Schlesinger Library/Harvard, ZineLibrary.info (pdf)
  3. Free to Choose: a Women’s Guide to Reproductive Freedom, by Esther Eberhardt. (Note the Eberhardt Press catalog title leave’s out the word “Women’s,” hence some irregularity in library catalogs.
    In addition to being pretty this pamphletty zine provides history and context (stories from the “bad old days,” The Abortion Handbook, Jane), as well as information about menstrual extraction tools and procedures. It includes a short list of bibliographical references and is anti-copyright.
    Held at: AnarchaLibrary (link to pdf), Barnard Zine Library/Columbia University, Bingham Center/Duke University, Birds Nest Zine Library, Brooklyn College,  Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Cleveland Health Science Library, Eberhardt Press (pdf), Evergreen State College Womyn’s Resource Center, Hampshire College, Mount Royal University, Schlesinger Libary/Harvard, Timberland Regional Library, University of Oregon, Vancouver Public Library
  4. Hot Pantz: Do It Yourself Gynecology, by Isabelle Gauthier and Lisa Vinebaum, 1995
    This is a classic women’s repro health DIY guide, originally published in French. Includes emmenagogues and advice for what to do to prevent pregnancy after a risky sexual encounter.
    Held at: Barnard Zine Library/Columbia University, Bingham Center/Duke University, BitchMedia Community Lending Library, Bowling Green State University, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Cleveland Health Science Library, Duke University/Bingham Center, Multnomah County Library, Firefly Zine Collection/University of Miami, No Borders Radical Lending Library (link to pdf that isn’t working for me), Roberts Street Social Centre, Timberland Regional Library, University of Oregon
  5. Mine: an Anthology of Women’s Choices, edited by Meredith Stern, 2002.
    You won’t necessarily get the recipe for an herbal abortion or instructions for performing menstrual extraction. What this compilation zine will provide is other women’s stories about medical and surgical abortions, herbal abortifacients, menstrual extractions and the women’s thought processes behind their decisions.
    Held at: Barnard Zine Library/Columbia University, Bingham Center/Duke University, Labadie Collection/University of Michigan, Schlesinger Library/Harvard University, Wisconsin Historical Society
  6. Radical Menstruation, 2004.
    Here’s the Barnard zine abstract: This political zine gives alternative ways to view and deal with menstruation, focusing on herbal and DIY remedies. It also critiques of the “culture of shame and ignorance” surrounding menstruation, provides a bibliography, and provides instructions on how to make a cloth pad or perform a menstrual extraction.
    Held at: Barnard Zine Library/Columbia University, Bowling Green State University
  7. Red Alert #3, by the Blood Sisters collective, early 2000s?
    Contains an emmenagogue recipe.
    Held at: Barnard Zine Library/Columbia University, Bingham Center/Duke University, OPIRG Infoshop
  8. She’s So Very, by Melissa Ann, 2008?
    Mostly a personal zine, about a lot of topics, this zine also includes an emmenagogue recipe–and interviews with Le Tigre band members about feminism, if you’re into that sort of thing.
    Held at Barnard Zine Library/Columbia University, Brooklyn College
  9. What Is This Thing Called M.E.? 2006 or later?
    Personal, DIY, cut and paste goodness–how have I never heard of this zine before?
    Held at: Papercut Zine Library (spreadsheet of holdings), pdf from unidentified source (RAM sucking download that might freeze your browser for a while)
  10. Wive’s Tales by Britton, 1993
    Here’s the Barnard abstract to another classic zine that still shows up at books fairs, zine fests and in distros, 20 years after it was published): This political DIY zine gives alternatives routes to female reproductive health. Included are guides to self-examination and forms of birth control, emmenagogues, and childbirth, as well as descriptions of diseases and tips for radical menstruation. There are illustrations and a bibliography.
    Held at: Barnard Zine Library/Columbia University, Bingham Center/Duke University, DePaul University (Kim Nolan collection), Forgotten Zine Archive, Internet Archive (options for viewing and download), Smith College, Tamiment Library/NYU, University of Iowa

Note, re: library holdings. I searched WorldCat and did an internet search. I have surely missed other libraries, whose catalogs are not online or whose holdings are not otherwise represented on the open web or for whatever reason don’t show up very high on a results list. Librarians should feel encouraged to add their holdings in this post or in the comments for me to integrate as I am able.

XD Tribute to Zine Librarians

Posted on by
Reply

In Xerography Debt #33, editor Davida Gypsy Breier says nice things about us:

“As a zinemaker, I often go about my business of making zines because I still believe in tangible artifacts. Or, as Jeff Somers says in his column in this issue, they have discreteness. I forget that with print runs frequently fewer than 500, or even 100 copies, zines are often ephemeral. I knew that zine collections at libraries exist, and have contributed to several, but it wasn’t until after the [Caxton Club zine] symposium that it really sunk in that these librarians and archivists are unsung heroes of zine culture. They are saving and preserving documentation on events and subcultures that would otherwise go unrepresented or be grossly misrepresented. They are also working to make zines discoverable to new readers.

“So I would like to dedicate this issue to the zine librarians and archivists out there who are working to support and protect zines. Thank you!”

Aw, shucks, Davida! It’s our pleasure. 🙂

Update on zinelibraries.info / also zine librarian identity

Posted on by
Reply

Zinelibraries.info discussion

Overview:
MKE last year, session abt zine librarians’ documentation so that all info doesn’t live in the archives of the zinelibrarians’ listserv
At the end of the session, discussed reviving zinelibraries.info
Wordpress site — not currently pleased with theme or appearance
Maintainers have identified headings that need to exist, need for a new theme

It’s not really clear what the mission is for the site
What would help this session:
Clarify mission going forward
Divide up the work

Q: Should UnConference sites be separate from the site, or folded into it?

Agenda/What we want to accomplish:
Mission
Identifying audience & how it will be used
CMS – Are we talking about scrapping WordPress?

This session, talk in broad terms, additional session to discuss tech details

Audiences:
Zine librarians
Librarians & others generally curious about the intersection of zines & librarianship, zine collections
Librarians who work in cataloging, tech services (& other more conventional areas of librarianship)

How the site relates to the We Make Zines zine librarian group?
People who use the WMZ site tend not to be zine librarians

We would like to see it be a document repository
Documentation to help us not reinvent the wheel
Moving 5 yrs of different wikis into a single space
Member directory
[Identity/branding for zine librarians as a whole]
Programming ideas/documentation
Place where people can give themselves shout-outs, report on the cool stuff they’re doing — showcase or show and tell
Centralized repository or aggregator so we’re not just posting to disparate sites like FB

You have to opt-in to be on a listserv, but anyone can go to the website — listserv can be helpful for asking questions (though this happens on the Rad Ref website, too)
Value of the listserv is the delivery of content into your inbox
Keep the email list

Q: Any more input about the site?

Links to other resources – We don’t need to duplicate Jerianne’s Zine World site – directory of zine librarians
FAQ

Work process this year
Collectively-shared website – maintainers were hesitant to change it on their own/independently
Not sure about next steps, after discovering flaws
We could leave it in WordPress, try to make it do what we want to do, and if it can’t then consider switching platforms
What if the work team got bigger? Shared responsibility?
Would help to parse out – someone would be responsible for look & feel, someone could be responsible for content, someone could be responsible for adding members & welcoming them

Delineating what we need volunteers for:
Figuring out WordPress theme
Banner art
Managing users
Having some instructional material about how to use WordPress
UnConference sites — Mediawiki install & use that in addition to the WordPress site?
Organizing the stuff that’s already on the site/or is related and exists elsewhere
Determining headers, architecture

Volunteers for categories:
Wordpress theme – Celina & Mackenzie* – Elvis & Milo should be included
Banner art – Elvis* & Milo
Managing users – Violet* & Jenna
How-to-use-the-site documentation – table this until site is done / Erica?
Incorporating old content – this can happen later
Architecture – Celina* & Jude & Erica

Honor is willing to give added assistance later
Jude will get programming content ready

Alycia, Kelly & Nicki should be in on all of the conversations happening in the groups

*will send the first email to get things rolling

Notes by Alana