We haven’t frequently highlighted scholarship about zine librarianship on this site, but when I read Ann Matsushima Chiu‘s chapter on “Engaging the Future of Zine Librarianship” in Librarians with Spines (Los Angeles : HINCHAS Press, 2017), I wanted to recommend it to other zine librarians. Chiu writes from her own experience as well as interviews with two experienced zine librarians, Cathy Camper (Multnomah County Public Library) and Jenna Freedman (Barnard College). The chapter moves beyond discussing how to establish zine collections within libraries, and focuses on the need for creating sustainable collections. Topics include the importance of institutional buy-in from the library as a whole, strategic and effective succession planning, and building communities through zine networks (including shout outs to the Zine Librarian email list, the Zine Pavilion, and the Zine Librarian unConference!).

I’d highly recommend this chapter as a prompt for thinking about establishing zine collections which are not just one librarian’s pet project, but instead are seen as integral parts of building more holistic library collections.

Ordering information for the Librarians with Spines book: from the publisher. Library info: WorldCat record.