ZLuC organizer toolkit draft

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Violet

The Zine Librarians unConference (ZLuC) is an annual-ish gathering of library/archives workers, zinesters, and anyone who cares about zines in libraries and archives. ZLuC started in 2009 and has moved around the U.S. in order to allow people from a variety of areas to attend.

In order to facilitate the organization of this unconference, a draft of a ZLuC Organizer Toolkit has been created. This document should be useful to people who are interested in hosting ZLuC at their institution. If you’ve attended or organized ZLuC or a similar unconference, please take a look at the draft and add content or let us know what’s missing.

Thoughts on zine librarianship from Salford

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Violet

Ingrid, one of the folks who helps run the Salford Zine Library in England, has a great post up about zine librarianship. She discusses issues that come in a zine library and the approaches the volunteer staff take in addressing those issues, which are informed by but can be different than those in traditional libraries.

In this post Ingrid touches on digitization, cataloging, and the broad concern about respecting and seeking out zinesters’ consent in having very personal material available within a public space. Looking forward to reading more of Ingrid’s thoughts as the SZL volunteers thoughtfully contend with these important considerations.

International Zine Library Day

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Violet

Once again the time is upon us to commemorate International Zine Library Day, observed every July 21st! Read more about the event and figure out a great way to celebrate, whether by visiting your local zine library, donating your zines to a library that collects zines, or sharing your thanks with those who make zine libraries happen. Find a zine library near you using Barnard Zine Library’s worldwide list. Use hashtag #IZM2018 to follow along with all the International Zine Month events.

A heartfelt thank you to all the zine library workers out there who help to make zines accessible to everyone in a myriad of different ways. Please be sure to take time to treat yourself today!

ZLuC 2018 is a wrap!

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Violet

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the 2018 Zine Librarians unConference! If you attended, please complete this quick 5-question survey to let us know how ZLuC 2019 can be even better.

I’m grateful to the rest of the ZLuC 2018 organizing team (Elissah Becknell, Elizabeth Bastyr, Deborah Boudewyns, Lindsay Keating, and Margit Wilson) as well as the hard working staff and students at our three venues: Minneapolis Community and Technical College, University of Minnesota Libraries, and Hennepin County Libraries.

Thanks to unofficial ZLuC photographer Eric for the glorious group pics.

large group photo of people standing on a railing

photo by Eric Goldhagen, click to see within Flickr photostream

Register now for ZLuC 2018

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Violet

There’s been such a great response to the 2018 Zine Librarians unConference! To ensure we have enough space (and food) for everyone, we’ll be cutting off registration soon. Please register by end of day Sunday July 8 if you’re planning to attend: http://zinelibraries.info/wiki/zluc-2018-msp/registration.

If you’ve registered and you’re looking for more info, you’ll find all the info at http://zinelibraries.info/wiki/zluc-2018-msp.

See you July 12-14 in Minneapolis!

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 the great list of some of the contributors’ favorite zines from their libraries’ 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.