Research Guides: Zines at Schlesinger Library : Learn More about Zines

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Learn More about Zines

Zines at Other Harvard Libraries

A number of other libraries at Harvard also collect zines, including Houghton Library, Widener Library, Tozzer Library, the Fine Arts Library, and more. You can find the items cataloged as zines across all Harvard repositories by running a library catalog search in HOLLIS for the form/genre term "zines." Different libraries will have different procedures and policies for accessing materials, so be sure to contact the library before you visit. At Houghton Library, the Printernet collection of American zines, which includes approximately 9,000 individual items, may be of particular interest. Note that the Printernet zines are described in a finding aid rather than individual catalog records.

Secondary Sources about Zines

The archival turn in feminism : outrage in order
The Archival Turn in Feminism chronicles the cultural artifacts of third wave feminist activism and their collection, cataloging, preservation, and distribution at institutions such as the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University, The Riot Grrrl Collection at New York University, and the Barnard Zine Library.
Girl zines : making media, doing feminism
Girl Zines is a book-length exploration of third-wave feminist zine culture. In it, author Alison Piepmeier argues that these quirky, personalized booklets are tangible examples of the ways that girls and women 'do' feminism today.
Make your own history : documenting feminist and queer activism in the 21st century
This entry from the Litwin Books Series on Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies contains several chapters about zines.
Making feminist media : third-wave magazines on the cusp of the digital age
The focus of this book is the feminist publications that began as zines in 1990s; in tracing their history, the author provides insight into the politics of feminism's recent past.
Notes from underground : zines and the politics of alternative culture
This volume explores the history and theory of zines and analyzes the practice of rebelling against a consumer society that cannibalizes cultural rebellion.
Writing a riot : riot grrrl zines and feminist rhetorics
In Writing a Riot: Riot Grrl Zines and Feminist Rhetorics, author Rebekah J. Buchanan argues that zines are a form of literacy participation used to document personal, social, and political values within punk. She examines zine studies as an academic field, how riot grrrls used zines to promote punk feminism, and the ways riot grrrl zines dealt with social justice issues of rape and race.
Zine : how I spent six years of my life in the underground and finally found myself-- I think
This book presents the author's experiences publishing a zine for several years after leaving college.
Zine publishers' resource guide
This resource collects information about zine distributors, print shops, and retail outlets as a tool for zine creators.
Zines!
This two-volume reference work presents a comprehensive guide to the zine movement of self publishing
Zine scene
This book offers a guide for girls to the unpredictable, unedited, and uninhibited world of zine publishing with advice on selecting a genre, art work, writing, raising money, and distribution.
Zines in third space : radical cooperation and borderlands rhetoric
This scholarly study develops third-space theory with a practical engagement in the subcultural space of zines as alternative media produced specifically by feminists and queers of color.

Zines about Zines

Barnard zine library
This 2015 edition of the Barnard Zine Library Zine provides general information about zines and describes how to best find zines through the Columbia Libraries online database. This edition also includes zine excerpts, collection factoids, information on using zines in scholarship, zine resources, and an explanation of the importance of zines. Schlesinger also holds 2011 edition.
Cite this zine : MLA, APA, Chicago style
Cite This Zine is an informational one-page folding-zine on how to cite zines properly in three formats: MLA, APA, and Chicago style.
Let's DIY! Tips and tricks on organizing zine workshops
This zine provides a guide to the fundamental basics of arranging zine-based workshops in your community with a resource list, history of the movement and women's involvement in it, and some tips and tricks for making everything operate more smoothly.
My life in zines
A publication from the Sallie Bingham Center at Duke University, this zine is a companion to a program in which local zinesters told their stories about how they first got involved in zines.
Zines in libraries : collecting, cataloging, & community
This zine was produced in conjunction with a session of same name held at the American Library Association Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA, 2012.

Resources on the Web

POC Zine Project
The mission of this online community is "to make all zines by people of color easy to find, distribute and share."
ZineWiki
ZineWiki is an open-source encyclopedia devoted to zines and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.
"Finding Zines in the Archives, and Archives in the Zines"
This article on the Schlesinger zine collection by Ann Marie Wilson, Assistant Professor of History at Leiden University College in The Hague, appeared in the spring 2012 edition of News from the Schlesinger Library.