zines in libraries

Zines in libraries

State Library of NSWCollection Management Seminar

5 August 2009

Outline

• Aims of today's presentation• Introducing panel members

o John Stevens, Librarian, State Library of Victoriao Jessie Lymn, PhD student, UTSo Vanessa Berry, zinemakero Susy Pow, Bird in the Hand zine distro

• Defining zines• Zines in libraries

o Two major Australian collectionso Selected international exampleso Considerations for librarians

• Questions

Defining zines

• Who makes them, and why?• Ideas of community• Where are they?• Zines in different contexts

Introduction to zine collections

Australian context• Two major collections

o State Library of Victoria & the Octapod (Newcastle)o Similarities, differences

• Other collections growing in Australian libraries and other spaceso eg St Kilda Public Library

International examples• Most collections focussed on a specific subject area or

geographical location

State Library of Victoria collection    

• Rare printed sectiono Uncataloguedo Approx 5,000 titles

• Collected since 2000• Zines sourced from bookshops

o Polyester Bookso Sticky Institute

• Current cataloguing project

State Library of Victoria 

State Library of Victoria 

The Octapod zine collection

• Octapod Association, Newcastle• Developed as part of National Young Writers Festival (run

annually since 1998)• Grew from the festival and local zine collection• Nationally significant collection• Estimated 3000+ zines

o Grows by donation each year• Current stocktaking project• Collaboration with local zine shop

Octapod zine collection

Octapod zine library workshop, October 2008

International zine collections

Barnard College collection, New York

Barnard College collection, New York

Multnomah County Library, Portland, Oregon

Multnomah County Library, Portland, Oregon

San Francisco Public Library

San Francisco Public Library

Archiv der Jugenkulturen, Berlin

Toronto Zine Library, Canada

Anchor Archive, Halifax, Canada(photo: Keg de Souza)

Considerations• Collection policy

o Community demand? Library priorities?

• Acquisitiono Cash purchases or through distros/stores?

• Presentationo Circulating collection? Reference / archive?

• Cataloguingo Finding aids vs catalogue

• Preservation• Censorship

Find out more

Zines in libraries literature• see handout

 Australian zine anthologies/books• Strawberry Hills Forever, Vanessa Berry • You anthology, Luke You

 Bird in the Hand zine distro open during lunch break