'Zines in Library Archival Spaces

Hays, A. (2018). Zine authors’ attitudes about inclusion in public and academic library collections: A survey-based study. Library Quarterly, 88(1), 60–78. https://doi-org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.1086/694869

Zines are powerful cultural artifacts that have long histories in uprisings, counter culture movements, underground scenes, and other such revolutionary circles. It’s fascinating to see academic discourse on this subject because it seems so antithetical, yet par for the course. That the tools of anti-establishment come full circle to be products of study in said settings, to be digested by establishment academics and stored for their posterity. Ironically, those zines, which were to be disseminated for a crowd that often did not have access to academic spaces will now not be able to access those same documents, either because they do not know about the zines, or because they don’t have access via enrollment or funds. It’s actually quite disturbing to think about.

In regard to zines as cultural products for underrepresented and minority identities, one must always consider the impact of archiving the zine, its benefit to the communities it was meant to serve, and the motivations which compel the institution to archive them. One such example is QZAP: “Specialized zine collections outside traditional institutions such as the Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) and the POC Zine Project aim to fill the gaps in mainstream zine collections by collecting, respectively, queer zines and zines by people of color. Doing so is in keeping with ALA’s (2004) “Core Values”: “We value our nation’s diversity and strive to reflect that diversity by providing a full spectrum of resources and services to the communities we serve.” Zine collections help fulfill that mission.” 

Additionally, privacy concerns are of paramount importance in the 21st century and the age of information. An ethical quandary presents itself: If the authors of zines wanted them available digitally, they would have made them available in that format. At what point does one transgress and usurp the author’s intention in the name of “preservation”. What if that media was not meant to be “preserved”? These decisions have implications that can have devastating outcomes for zine authors, especially when it comes to zines on controversial topics (that shouldn't be controversial), such as the bodily rights of pregnant people, gender and sexual equality, and race.

However, despite my concerns, many of these zine creators who would have to contend with the repercussions that can come from personally identifiable information being put on the internet are okay with having their zines cataloged and made available digitally. I would not have expected that outcome, mostly because I would not want that for myself. If I presented sensitive info in a limited forum (that’s what I’m considering a zine), and it made its way to the internet, especially if I made these statement long before the mainstream internet was a thing, I’d be wildly uncomfortable. But hey, that’s just me.

Developing an Archival Zine Collection

Brett, J. (2015). “Deep in the Heart of Texzines:” Developing an Archival Zine Collection. Technical Services Quarterly, 32(4), 390-401.

I found this article to be extremely fascinating, for it describes the creation and development of a zine collection at Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M University.  The author had developed a similar zine collection at the University of Iowa, so he used that experience as the basis to do the same at Texas.  Brett was motivated to collect zines because they are cultural artifacts that represent the diversity of people in this country, and their voices tend to be those who are outside the mainstream.  Also, as an archivist, Brett felt inclined to preserve these records, especially given “their ephemeral and underground nature.”  He outlines the steps taken to build the collection, such as getting administrative support, developing a collection policy, and hosting a zine event at the library to publicize the collection.  Zines are not a common source/record that are collected.  By and large they are still seen as being on the margins, and perhaps as disposable.  But in the author’s eyes, zines are worth preserving, and will one day be important historical sources.  I would recommend this article to anyone interested in zines and collection development, for it shows how one particular archivist, through his vision and efforts, was able to establish such a collection.