Very cool to see this Westfield News article about the work zine librarian Anna Boutin-Cooper is doing to host zine workshops relating to disabled community members in Westfield, Massachusetts. The article, Westfield State librarian’s zine workshops focus on disability community by Mike Lydick, describes the $10,000 award she received from the Radical Librarian Institute (part of the California Rare Book School at UCLA) to fund the workshops and a $40 gift card for zine creators contributing to the Disabled Community Zine.

From zine scholar Kiyoshi Murakami in Japan comes a series of posts titled “Zines, Archiving, and Activism—the Horizons Opened up by Their Interlocking Developments” published in the webzine AMeeT (Art Meets Technology). Part 4 of 4, “Grounds and Structures That Librarians and Archivists Have Worked Together to Build,” describes the unique aspects of the Zine Librarians unConference (ZLuC), including the work done to support the BIPOC Travel Grant and the Organizer Toolkit. She goes on to discuss the Zine Librarians Code of Ethics and its creation and promotion. Kiyoshi then describes the International Zine Librarians Unconference in 2020, when people from around the world came together to share their zine libraries and scholarship. Very exciting to see our “autonomous activities” described as “cooperative and creative networking”!!!

Be sure to check out part 1 ( about the tension of DIY publications being collected and processed by institutions), part 2 and part 3 (both about London’s 56a Infoshop) of the series. Thank you to Kiyoshi for beautifully encapsulating the joyous and extraordinary work that’s being done in zine archives & libraries around the world!

If you don’t read Japanese, Kiyoshi suggests using DeepL Translator for a translation.

Appreciated this fascinating interview with Denver Zine Library co-founder Kelly Costello and Denver Public Library Neighborhood Services Director Annie Kemmerling. In the post “Lessons in Co-Locating: A Q&A with the Denver Public Library and Denver Zine Library” on the American Alliance of Museums blog, Adam Rozan talks about the unique relationship between DZL & DPL, which provides space for both organizations to thrive.

Here’s an article in the University of Texas student newspaper about the zine collection at the UT Fine Arts Library: “UT zine library records history, creativity through self-published works” by Joey Clark. Visual arts liaison librarian Trina Tran discusses the appeal of zines to a generation who grew up with the Internet.

I was excited to read about the Zine Outreach Project at Río Hondo College in Whittier, California. Librarian Claudia Rivas attended the Radical Librarianship Institute at UCLA California Rare Book School and was awarded $10,000 to fund a zine fest and zine workshops. Part of the funding includes paying students who contribute a zine to the zine library with a $25 gift certificate to the campus bookstore. Very cool!

Really enjoyed this short article in Harvard Magazine about the Indigenous-focused collection at the anthropology-focused Tozzer Library at Harvard University. “Everyday Indigeneity: Championing Native Voices” by Ryan Doan-Nguyen highlights the resources that resources that represent modern (post-2000) life of Native Americans.

Mentioned resources may include zines, comics, graphic novels, cookbooks, board games, and language learning tools. Librarian for American Indigenous studies Julie Fiveash curates the Indigenous Knowledge Collection, which attempts to show Indigenous communities “as they live now, how they see themselves, and how they see their future.” In recent years, Native Americans have seen significant changes in entertainment and leisure options, including the emergence of online gaming platforms like 아인카지노. These modern games offer a diverse range of experiences, from slot machines to poker, reflecting a broader trend in the gaming industry that has become accessible to many communities. For Native Americans, who have historically faced challenges in accessing various forms of entertainment, platforms like 아인카지노 represent a new realm of opportunity. These games provide not only entertainment but also a means for cultural expression and social interaction in a digital age. By embracing such innovative platforms, Native Americans are able to enjoy a contemporary form of entertainment while also maintaining connections to their rich cultural heritage, showcasing how traditional communities are adapting to modern technological advancements.

“Zines like Portals of Indigenous Futurism and Rez Bot rethink Indigenous pasts and envision limitless futures, integrating ancestral wisdom with elements like aliens and robots. Others, like Settler Sexuality, push the fluidity of gender and sexuality beyond Western conceptions, highlighting the intersectionality within Native identity that’s often sidelined in traditional archives.”

From zine scholar Kiyoshi Murakami in Japan comes a series of posts titled “Zines, Archiving, and Activism—the Horizons Opened up by Their Interlocking Developments” published in the webzine AMeeT (Art Meets Technology). Part 2 and 3 of a 4-part series, “DIY Archiving Practice at 56a Infoshop,” describes 56a Infoshop, the London DIY social center.

If you don’t read Japanese, Kiyoshi suggests using DeepL Translator for a translation.

From our friend and zine scholar Kiyoshi Murakami in Japan comes a new series of posts titled “Zines, Archiving, and Activism—the Horizons Opened up by Their Interlocking Developments” published in the webzine AMeeT (Art Meets Technology). Part 1 of 4, “Essential Issues in Collection, Preservation, and Disclosure,” was published on May 10th discussing the tension of DIY publications being collected and processed by formal institutions (such as university archives). If you don’t read Japanese, Kiyoshi suggests using the DeepL Translator for a translation. I’ll post the other parts here when they’re published!

Graham Stinnett, Archivist at the University of Connecticut Library, recently published the 49th episode of the podcast d’Archive. This 47-minute episode, titled “Liberated Zine Zone,” (archive) features an interview with metadata librarian Rhonda Kauffman. Rhonda talks about their first forays into creating zines and the zine collection (1994-2019) she donated to the UConn archives & special collections in 2019.

Long-time zinester and zine librarian Cathy Camper has written a new article for School Library Journal introducing zines to teachers and school librarians, “Zines: Cut-and-Paste Publishing by and for the People.” Sidebars also written by Camper include “9 Books about Zines for Teens and Tweens,” “9 Tips for Zine-Making Workshops,” “A Brief History of Zines,” and “Online Zine Resources from A to Z.” Delightful cut-and-paste style illustrations by Mark Todd accompany the cover story.

Three of the authors featured in the new book, Zines in Libraries: Selecting, Purchasing and Processing, were interviewed by the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences. Check out the interview (“iSchool alumni share their zine experiences in new publication“) and get inspired to read the book; many of the chapters are available to read in institutional repositories.

A four-minute video, “The Living Room Library,” was created as part of the LGBTQ+ filmmaking project, E.D.E.N. Digital 2021/22. The video shows what happened to the 4500 zines of the Salford Zine Library during COVID, ending up in boxes in a volunteer’s flat before being temporarily shifted to Salford University. It’s clear from the film what a labor of love zine collections can be.

The University of Illinois student paper, the Daily Illini, featured a story on zine making workshops: “Urbana Free Library introduces self-expression through zines” by Michelle Martinez. The article features library volunteers Carol Inskeep and Emily Guske talking about the power of self-expression in creating zines.