University of Alberta School of Library and Information Studies MLIS student Rynnelle Wiebe created an essay & illustrated zine titled “Indigenous Zines and Academic Libraries” as part of a fall 2020 course. The course, “Indigenous Library and Information Studies in a Canadian Context,” was created by instructors Kayla Lar-Son and Tanya Ball included research into Indigenous principles, practices, and Indigenous methodologies. A bibliography includes a selection of Indigenous-created zines and resources about zines and Indigenous librarianship. Find the zine at https://indigenouslis.ca/indigenous-zines-and-academic-libraries/.
Author Archives: Violet
Zine Grab ‘n Go Kit
It’s still COVID Times, so the hands-on, community-building aspects of zine making can be less than ideal. That’s why I love this Chicago Public Library grab and go kit for kids and tweens that talks about how to make a zine at home. The kit comes in a plastic bag and includes pages for collaging, a glue stick, and a copy of “How to Make a One-Page Zine” by Sarah Mirk (get a free copy at Sarah Mirk’s website). Patrons need to supply scissors, paper, and a writing instrument.
Check out the video from zine librarian Alenka Figa sharing different types of zines and giving a tutorial about how to make a one-page zine out of a piece of scrap paper.
Archives: a zine bibliography
Inspired by a tweet from Kirsty Fife @DIYarchivist, here’s a compilation of archives-related zines. There’s a lot out there so this won’t be a complete list, but hopefully a good starting point! Continue reading
“How Zines Can Help You Document Social Justice Movements”
Cristina Favretto, Head of Special Collections at the University of Miami Libraries, gave a great presentation on the history of zines on October 21: “All You Need is Paper and Passion: How Zines Can Help You Document Social Justice Movements.” The presentation also had suggestions for building relevant and responsive zine collections.
The session recording and the slides are now available.
Quaranzines article from Salon
Yet another “zines are back, baby!” headline, this time from news/opinion site Salon. ;)Â Despite that, it’s a decent article, featuring the Arlington Public Library’s “Quaranzine” and the use of the hashtag #quaranzine on social media. Check out the article: Self-published zines are back as artists respond to our reality in quarantine by Ashlie D. Stevens.
IZLD 2020 recordings & notes available
International Zine Library Day 2020, held on July 21, was a great success! If you missed any of the content (there was a lot!), you can find notes from each of the sessions, as well as video recordings of many sessions, here: http://zinelibraries.info/wiki/izld-2020-online-event-notes-and-recordings. Congratulations to the organizers for such a fun-filled event!
Check back for more information about the Zine Librarians unConference, to be held later in 2020.
Contemporary Collecting: DIY Publishing webinar
The Bibliographical Society of America hosted a webinar on July 28 about DIY Publishing. Miarosa Ciallella, a zinester and library worker, talks about zines as activism and zines as a way to resist technocracy. Ciallella talks about how we know that social media is oppressive and how zines are “micro-archives that reflect and reject dominant narratives of historical moments.” Ciallella argues that we should start mentally investing in DIY print culture as a way to document history. (The other half of the presentation, about real estate flyers from Real Estate Trailblazers, is also interesting, though not as relevant to this site!)
Find the full description of this presentation at: memberplanet.com/events/bsa/contemp-collecting-diy and the recording at youtube.com/watch?v=BqxLE0zh5Xo.
Quaranzines in library collections
Zine librarian and librarian Gina Murrell wrote a story for Library Journal called Libraries Collect COVID-19 Stories in Quaranzines on June 1st. She talks about how zines have allowed creators to process the difficult thoughts and emotions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Find the article at libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=Libraries-Collect-COVID-19-Stories-Quaranzines.
ZLuC 2020 moving online
This year’s Zine Librarians unConference, ZLuC 2020, in Montréal has been cancelled due to COVID-19. But zine librarians from around the world are working on a virtual version of the event! http://zinelibraries.info/wiki/zluc2020/ If you’re interested in attending, stay tuned. If you’re interested in helping organize this event, please get in touch! In the meantime, join us on July 21 for a special event, being decided by ZLuC organizers right now!
ZLuC 2021 site announced
“From Indie to Institution” article
This From Indie to Institution article in The Harvard Crimson by Elyse D. Pham describes the differing environments of the zine collections of the Papercut Zine Library and Harvard’s Schlesinger Library. Though the institutions are less than a mile apart in Cambridge, Massachusetts, their differing focus is clear, with preservation and research access being key at Schlesinger while Papercut establishes a more reader-friendly vibe. The article is a short but excellent description of the wide range of what a zine library can be!
Zine library visit during ALA Midwinter 2020
Article on zine fests at libraries
“On the Zine Scene” is a new American Libraries article written by Diana Panuncial discussing how libraries have partnered with zinesters to bring zine fests to life. Libraries discussed include the Milwaukee Public Library, Hennepin County Library, Chattanooga Public Library, and San Antonio Public Library.
Zine Union Catalog updates
The team working on the Zine Union Catalog has been busy! Check out these recent blog posts to keep up with their work: Data Cleaning in OpenRefine, Ingestion, and Bibliography.
Podcast episode on zines in libraries
CMLE (the Central Minnesota Library Exchange) is a regional multitype library system which supports collaboration between public, academic, school, and special libraries. Their Reading with Libraries podcast explores a specific genre each episode and features guest hosts who help give recommendations for great reading materials.
Episode 409 focuses on zines and features long-time zine librarian Violet Fox (me!). During the show we discuss zinelibraries.info, the Zine Librarians unConference, and the Zine Pavilion, as well as some recent young adult and middle grade fiction that includes zine making as a significant part of the storyline.