Zine librarians share faves from their collections

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Violet

The Washington Post‘s The Lily recently published a 22-page zine in celebration of its first anniversary, and Lily digital editor Ashley Nguyen talked to a number of zine librarians and enthusiasts to talk about what zines mean to them and why libraries collect zines. Zine librarians consulted include:

Malana Krongelb (Brown University)
Meg Metcalf (Library of Congress)
Shannon Keller (New York Public Library)
Kelly Wooten (Duke University)
Jenna Freedman (Barnard College)
Hana Zittel (Denver Zine Library, Denver Public Library)
Jeremy Brett (Texas A&M University)

Take a moment to check out the article and their great list of some of their favorite zines from their library’s collections!

ZLuC 2018 registration open

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Violet

Registration for ZLuC 2018 registration is now open! Please plan on joining the zine librarian fun in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 12-14. Find registration, housing, schedule details and more at the ZLuC 2018 site: zinelibraries.info/wiki/zluc-2018-msp.

Huge thanks to Minneapolis artist Jordan Coffer for this year’s poster art! Check out more of her artwork at her website: jcoffer01.wixsite.com/jordancoffer.

Queer library outreach zine

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Violet

Librarian Kate Kitchens’s most recent zine is “Librarian field notes : a zine on queer outreach ideas, reflection, and a perfect cat named Trout.” She wrote about the zine in ALA’s Intersections blog in January 2018. Kate describes the zine as “a guide for librarians who want to provide services to support their queer patrons but don’t know where to start or find it too daunting of a task,” as well as “for librarians who are seeking to better understand queer communities and their unique needs.”

You can view the zine online or contact Kate to get a printable version!

Art Libraries Journal issue on zine libraries in the U.K.

Posted on March 31, 2018 by Violet

Volume 43, Special Issue 2 (April 2018) of Art Libraries Journal is dedicated entirely to zine library collections in the United Kingdom. The issue’s articles include:

What we do, is (still) secret? Collection, care and accessibility of zines in UK collections / Siobhan Britton
Developing and raising awareness of the zine collections at the British Library / Debbie Cox
Gathering the margins: the London College of Communication Library Zine Collection / Ruth Collingwood, Leila Kassir
Developing the Stuart Hall Library Zines Collection at Iniva / Stephanie Moran
Zines at the Wellcome Library: an interview with Nicola Cook and Loesja Vigour / Nicola Cook, Loesja Vigour
Everyone has something worthwhile to say: an introduction to Salford Zine Library / Steve Carlton, Ingrid Francis
UK and Ireland Zine Librarians: doing it ourselves / Holly Callaghan

Book chapter on the zine librarian community

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Violet

“Each according to their ability : Zine librarians talking about their community,” written by Jude Vachon, Kelly Wooten, Kelly McElroy, and Violet Fox, was published as a chapter in The Politics of Theory and the Practice of Critical Librarianship, edited by Karen P. Nicholson and Maura Seale (Library Juice Press, 2018). The chapter is a reflective, informal discussion between the four long-time zine librarians, sharing how theory and practice work together in zine librarianship in ways informed by the human connections and sense of responsibility we feel towards our resources and each other. Topics discussed include the Zine Librarians Code of Ethics, zine cataloging, and feminist pedagogy.

Interview with Zine Pavilion organizer Matthew Murray

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Violet

The latest episode of library podcast Circulating Ideas is an interview with Matthew Murray, Visiting Library Fellow at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and one of the long-time organizers of the Zine Pavilion. The first fifteen minutes of the episode are dedicated to discussing zines and zines in libraries. He also shares info about his own zine, Two-Fisted Library Stories! In the rest of the episode Matthew talks about his other pop-culture-inspired interests, including maker projects, comics, and podcasts, as well as the podcast he co-hosts, Book Club for Masochists.

Take some time to learn about all the cool stuff that Matthew makes happen!

ZLuC 2018 POC Travel Grant

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Violet

Every year, the zine libraries community raises money to help a Person of Color attend the Zine Librarians unConference (ZLuC). This year’s ZLuC will be held July 12-14 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Registration for all attendees is free; this grant is intended to help with associated travel and/or childcare costs.

If you are Black, Indigenous, and/or a POC and would like to apply for the ZLuC 2018 POC Travel Grant, please apply here: https://tinyurl.com/ZLuC2018travelgrant. Former applicants are encouraged to apply again!

If you’re able to support the ZLuC 2018 POC Travel Grant with funding, please send donations via Paypal to violetfox [at the] gmail [dot] com. There’s also a Paypal donation button on the sidebar of this site. If you’d prefer to contribute without using Paypal, please email the address above and we’ll figure out an alternate method.

If you’re not able to donate funds right now, please help by spreading the word!

Applications and donations will be accepted until Sunday March 25 2018. All applicants will be contacted by Wednesday April 11.

Dates of ZLuC 2018

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Violet

The Zine Librarian unConference planning committee is happy to announce the dates for ZLuC 2018 in Minneapolis: July 12-14. We have so much exciting stuff that we couldn’t limit ourselves to two days!

The plan (so far…):

Thursday July 12 (starting around 1 pm-ish?) we’ll have a half day of ZLuC at MCTC (Minneapolis Community and Technical College). MCTC’s library has a huge zine collection and a zine lounge area! A potential field trip that evening will be the Walker Art Center (free on Thursday evenings).
Friday July 13 we’ll have a full day of ZLuC at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. The UMN Libraries holds the incredible Marshall Weber Culture Wars Zine Collection. We’ll likely have a mixer that evening.
Saturday July 14 we’ll have another half day to wrap up ZLuC at the Hennepin County Library’s beautiful Minneapolis Central Library. HCL is in the process of ramping up their zine collection and will be the host of this year’s Twin Cities Zine Fest in September. We hope to have another social event that evening, perhaps a zine reading.

All three locations are within central Minneapolis and easily accessible by public transit. (Here’s a map!) UMN dorm rooms will be available for reservation starting April 1st, with a cost of $61 per person, per day (tax included) for a private room, and $46 per person, per day (tax included) for a shared room. We’ll also have a limited number of couches/guest rooms to offer.

We know no days/time will work for everyone, but hopefully many people can attend one, two, or all three days of ZLuC 2018. Registration, as always, is free. More details will follow this spring!

Tour of Denver Zine Library during ALA Midwinter

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Violet

If you’re in the Denver area or headed to Denver for ALA Midwinter 2018, please join in a tour of the Denver Zine Library on Saturday February 10th! We’ll be meeting at the Colorado Convention Center at 4:30 pm, and the tour will be from 5-6 pm.

Site of ZLuC 2018: Minneapolis!

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Violet

The site selection committee for the Zine Librarians unConference has selected the location for ZLuC 2018: Minneapolis, Minnesota! The proposal was hosted by a number of Minnesota libraries: the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Hennepin County Library, and the Minneapolis Community & Technical College. These libraries, plus others in the metro area, all have zine collections of varying sizes, and the Twin Cities is well-known for its support of literary and artistic creators. ZLuC 2018 will be jam packed with zine library goodness!

A date will be announced soon so travel plans can commence. Thanks to the ZLuC site selection committee (Ziba Zehdar-Gazdecki, Poliana Irizarry, Chlöe Van Stralendorff, Agatha Burstein, Marya Errin Jones, Liz Chenevey, & Katie Ross) for their deliberations.