Can the zines be loaned to other libraries?
I am looking for a particular zine. Will it be in the catalog?
How will I find the zine I'm looking for on the shelf?
Is there a
mailing list? I'm
interested in programs, events, workshops and other zine stuff.
What is a zine?
Zine, which rhymes with spleen, comes from the words "magazine"
and "fanzine." Definitions of the word vary tremendously, but most publications that call themselves zines
have
several of these characteristics:
- Self-published, no editor or
censor
- Small, self-distributed print run
- Motivated by desire to express oneself rather than to make money
or get famous
- Outside the mainstream
- Low budget
Is a zine a print version of a blog?
Zines and blogs have common qualities, but they are not entirely the same.
Addressing this topic, the Barnard Zine Librarian has written an article called Zines
Are Not Blogs: a Not Unbiased Analysis.
When did Barnard start the zine collection?
The idea for the collection was
pitched
and accepted in the summer of 2003. It was awarded an initial materials budget of $500. It took
about a year of planning to get the zines onto the shelves.
What kind of zines do you have at Barnard?
There are a lot of different types
of zines at Barnard, but since the collection was launched to
complement our women's studies holding, much of the emphasis is on feminism.
In addition to focusing on feminism, we try to collect works by writers
of color and zine writers from the NYC area. Popular
topics include personal and political publications on activism,
anarchism, body image, third wave feminism, gender, parenting, queer
community, and a range of other feminist concerns. All of the zines
in our collection were written by women (biological and transgendered).
Who reads these zines and why?
This collection aims to serve the
needs of current readers and scholars and those of future researchers.
Barnard and Columbia students and
faculty, scholars from other academic institutions, and writers doing
research for a major publishing house
have used zines to research topics such as the Riot Grrrl movement,
Sassy magazine, girls and education, radical parenting and other topics. Library
science graduate students from around the city have visited and worked
with us to learn more about collecting, cataloging and preserving
alternative publications.
We believe the collection will be an invaluable resource for future
scholars. Zines are primary source documents that tell the story of
contemporary life, culture, and politics in a multitude of women’s
voices that might otherwise be lost.
We also hope that current readers will enjoy the collection simply for
its vibrancy, humanity, and artistic value.
For more information on local zine
sources, check out our
zine
links; there are lots of great organizations in the zine
community.
How many zines are in the Barnard Zine Collection?
There are over 800 zines in the open
stacks, where they can be pored over, photocopied, and we hope not spilled
upon by readers. We have several hundred more in the archives. We
currently own nearly 2000 individual issues of zines, but many of them are
awaiting processing and so are not yet fully represented
in the
catalog.
We
collect zines in several categories, including:
- Art zines
- Compilation zines
- Fanzines
- Mamazines
- Minicomics
- Personal zines
- Political zines
- Split zines
How many zines are by Barnard students and/or alumnae?
A few, but not enough. If you want to add your zine to the collection, please
contact the zine librarian. All zines by Barnard and Columbia women will be accepted. We'll even pay for them! There is one Barnard compilation
zine in the collection, made at a
workshop held at the library in Spring, 2006.
We also have zines created by BC/CU organizations like
ClubQ and
SEEJ.
Could you give examples of some cool titles/subjects?
There are so many wonderful zines that this is an
impossible task. Since that's a completely inadequate response,
we'll highlight a zine or two from each genre in an attempt to give
you some idea of what's cool in our zine collection. Please be aware
that this is totally subjective!
- ART ZINES
- Chinese Sweatshop, Elsie Sampson
Elsie's zines are bursting with art, handwritten comments,
attached objects, recipes and all of the other accoutrements of
exuberant creativity. She generally writes about her life as a
resident alien Chinese living in White Plains, NY. She makes
arts, goes to school, and attends zine and craft events. This
has nothing to do with sweatshops. -
Mirror
Tricks, Robin Hustle
In contrast to Chinese Sweatshop's jumbling richness,
Mirror Tricks is spare and subtle. It's a visual and written
account of the author's experience as a prostitute.
COMPILATION ZINES- Hard as Nails: the Tough Girl Compilation Zine,
Lauren Jade Martin
Lauren interviews and celebrates her strong female friends, many
if not all of whom are women of color, and ask them about their
own heroines. It's done in a respectful, yet playful and fun manner,
with hand drawn self-portraits and other art elements. -
Ladyfriend: for
Ladies and All Their Friends, Christa Donner
Each issue has a different theme, e.g. hair, age, shoes, or food. It tackles some serious and some less serious
topics in a
playful, yet respectful manner. There have been articles about
riot grrrl, Internet dating, women's self-defense, eating
disorders, and other topics, and there are usually zine and
music reviews, as well. It's muy third wave!
DIY ZINES
-
Dropping Out
(for Students), Cavegirl
DIY instruction units in this radical zine include shoplifting,
dumpster diving, squatting, and other freegan survival
techniques. It tells one woman's story of rejecting high
school and many societal norms. Even if you're not ready to
leave town with $60 and a sleeping bag, you may wish you
were after reading about Cavegirl's adventures and beliefs.
- SEEJ Operating Manual,
SEEJ
members
This cut and paste zine by Barnard and Columbia members of
Students for Environmental and Economic Justice is a great
primer on collective processes and dynamics and recognizing
one thing that keeps a movement going, throws in some vegan
recipes, too. The physical object conveys the students'
generosity, creativity, sense of humor, and commitment to
political change. They're cute, but very serious.
FANZINES -
All Slay #3: The Sex Issue, Katy
Stevens
This is a scholarly zine about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Do
you really need to know more? Unfortunately, it's out of
print, and other issues have been impossible to get.
Therefore we'll have to content ourselves with just the sex
issue, which looks at the Angel series, as well as Buffy.
They investigate gender issues, queerness, feminism, sex and
violence, and there's also the obligatory slash fiction.
-
Judy!,
Andrea Lawlor-Mariano
Judy is a Judith Butler fanzine from 1992. The
existence of a Judith Butler fanzine alone is enough to
crack up anyone involved in women's studies and zines. Dr.
Butler's response to the zine, made by a college
undergrad, is documented in the zine and in Lingua Franca.
There are also quizzes, letters, photos
and paper dolls.
LITERARY ZINES-
Beautiful People,
Heather Lynn.
Many people in zinedom don't care much for literary zines.
They will need to make an exception for this 21 year-old punk
rocker who tricks you into reading her short stories by
interspersing them with goofy letters to celebrities. The
fiction is startlingly good. -
I Hear
You Like Stories
,
Meg Favreau
Same goes for Meg's stories, and with hers you have to try
to guess which are true and which are not. Visually the zine
has an 1890s aesthetic, but the fiction is plenty topical. A
crafty girl, Meg makes her zine very pretty and tidy, as
well.
MAMAZINES -
East Village Inky,
Ayun Halliday
Ayun's zine is about raising her kids in Brooklyn, NY, and
trying to do so in an ethical and artistic manner. Issues
normally include recipes, advice from the father (written by
her spouse, Broadway show author Greg Kotis), comix,
photobooth photos, recommended NYC spots and events, and
articles on local and national politics, international
travel, and the trials and joys of parenting. -
The
Future Generation, China Martens
Having started her zine in 1990, China is one of the
pioneers of the genre, especially when it comes to mamazines.
She was a young anarchist punk rock mother who didn't feel
that the mamas in her community had enough support, so she began
delivering articles on radical parenting to her compañeras
in an age before the Internet made that easy. This zine
really makes you think about how you should deal with
children and
respect them. China is still making zines, as is her 18
year old daughter, Nadja (also known as Clover).
MINICOMICS
-
I Like Girls,
Erika Moen
This is a coming out zine/comix by a queer college student. The
drawings are simple and direct, but also quirky and creative. -
On Being Jealous of Invertebrates, Jess S.
This zine was a huge hit with the school teachers who attended a
workshop we gave in Ohio. It's a series of one panel
drawings with short captions on all the things Jess envies about
invertebrates, particularly sea monkeys, including how easy it
is for them to maintain a vegan diet.
PERSONAL ZINES, also
known as PERZINES-
Baby Girl,
Lindsey Morrison
This is a touching and very personal zine about a young
woman dealing with her mother's terminal illness, while at
the same time trying to live her own life and deal with her
relationships with her other family members and her partner. -
Fuck You, High School, Lauren Jade Martin
Zines have historically been a particularly powerful medium
for young people including junior and senior high school
students. Lauren collected contributions from her readers
(virtually all of whom she met through her participation in
zine culture) about the joys and horrors of the high school
years. This is a special issue of her first zine series,
Boredom Sucks. -
Glossolalia
, Sarah Contrary
In some ways Sarah is the stereotypical zine publisher--she
is in her 20s, rides a bike, lives in Portland, and attends
the occasional punk show. Her zine features many of the
typical elements--lists, travel stories, drawings,
contributions from friends, and recommendations. Still, she
manages to make each story and graphic smarter and funnier
than those seen in many other zines. Her story of her bike
trip down the west coast is inspiring, and her skewering
illustration of her fellow PDX bicyclists is hilarious.
-
I
Dreamed I Was Assertive, Celia C. Perez
Librarians are one of the largest professional demographics
in zine publishing, probably trailing only students, the
semi-employed, and baristas. Celia is one of the most
intelligent and thoughtful bibliozinester. Her zines
chronicle her experiences on public transportation in
Florida and Illinois, her marriage and recently, having a
child, and work in various libraries. With her working class
Latina background, Celia also addresses issues of race and
class. -
I Was a Teenage Mormon,
Caitlin
It's just what it sounds like--a big, fat zine about a young
woman coming of age among the Mormons of Utah and her
eventual escape.
political zine -
Evolution of a Race Riot,
Mimi Nguyen
This empowering zine takes on racism in punk rock,
anarchism, feminism, and zine publishing. The second issue
contains a valuable race riot project guide, as well. -
Figure
8, Krissy Durden
Durden, a proponent of the fat acceptance movement and
founder of FATASS (the Fat Action Allstar Spirit Squad)
writes about health, politics, and emotional issues facing
women of size.
What other colleges have zine collections,
and how does Barnard's collection compare?
Check out our
lists of
academic,
public,
school, and other types of library zine collections.
There aren't very many zine libraries to begin with, and few of them
fully catalog their zines in the
worldwide union
catalog known as
WorldCat. The zines existence in WorldCat makes it easy for people around the world to know
that we have zines in our collection and facilitates their ordering them via
Interlibrary Loan.
Another advantage to having the zines included in
CLIO,
our online catalog, is that researchers who may never have heard of
zines can discover them accidentally.
To our knowledge there are three other libraries that have collections
specializing in women's zines:
Duke University,
Smith College, and
Tulane
University. We believe those collections are all closed stacks,
meaning you have to ask for the zines you want and use them under
supervision. Along with
Colorado College and
Pratt Institute,
Barnard is one of the few academic collections that has zines
available in the open stacks.
How can I access the zine collection?
The collection is easily accessible to anyone with a Barnard or
Columbia ID or to people from schools to whom we grant site
privileges (e.g.
NYU, SHARES institutions). If you are not
a member of one of these communities, just
contact the Zine Librarian to make an appointment. It's NO BIG DEAL. We just have to let the desk attendant know to expect you. If you prefer phone to email, call 212.854.4615.
Once you get here, remember that there are two sets of zines: stacks and archives. There are twice as many zines in the archives and hundreds more that haven't been processed yet and are in the Zine Librarian's office or in Technical Services.
If there is something in particular that you are looking
for and can't find it, please ask for help at the
reference desk!
Does the Barnard Library accept zine donations?
Yes! At the moment, we are
especially interested in acquiring zines that document Riot
Grrrl, though we are eager to accept zines from any time period
or subject as long as they fit our collection policy guidelines.
Our guidelines specify that the zines must be written by people who
self-identify as female, or did when the zine was published. (We
accede to the wishes of transgendered individuals
sensibilities.) When possible, we like
to get two copies of each zine--one for the archives, and one for
the stacks. Please
contact us before making your donation. We will be happy to
provide a letter acknowledging the donation, but we cannot provide a
valuation with it.
Can I borrow zines from the library?
Yes! In
November 2007 we became the first academic library that we know of
to circulate zines.
Can the zines be loaned to other libraries?
Stacks zines are available via
Interlibrary Loan. Please go through the normal ILL channels at your local
library.
I am looking for a particular zine. Will it be in the catalog?
Many of the zines available are
currently in
CLIO,
but some others have yet to be processed. When in doubt, you can always ask the Zine Librarian.
How will I find the zine I'm looking for on the shelf?
The zines are shelved on the zine rack,
which is on the second floor of the library, between the newspapers
and current periodicals. The call numbers start with "ZINE" followed by
a Cutter number, "An alphanumeric scheme ordinarily based on the
author or main entry." (From the University of North Carolina's
Serials Cataloging Graduate Manual - Glossary. Accessed October
20, 2006.)
Do you have a mailing list for programs, events, workshops and other zine stuff?
Yes! Sign up at
http://muse.barnard.edu/sympa/info/zinelist. Another way to keep
in touch with us is by visiting us on
FaceBook,
LiveJournal and
MySpace.
This page last updated
07/08/2008.
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