Cataloguers – adventurers of the library world!

Elaine Bulluss & Debbie Cox

Zines: what are they and a potted zine history

What is a zine?

• Name abbreviation of maga{zine}

• Underground publications

• Small i.e. Usually less than 20 pages

• Usually self-published

• Non-commercial

• Monograph or serial

• Be: – About anything

– Made by anything

Zines

“Zines may assume a recognisably magazine derived format (evidencing their etymological

origins) or be something else print-based entirely. Zines may be sequential, an ongoing

series, or a one off creation”.

Eloise Peace (Zine creator)

Zinesters

• Can be anybody who:

– Creates and/or collects zines

– And/or runs zine distros

• Uncensored creators

Eurovision Song Contest Zines

Zine distros and events

Quick Zine History

• Gutenberg Press 1450: pamphlets, chapbooks and tracts = zines??

• 1920’s to 1960’s golden age of the Fanzine

• 1970’s alternative music scene, mainly Punk

• 1990’s Riot Grrl movement

• Late 1990’s death and rebirth

• 21st Century: Bio-zines, Perzines and lots more

Fanzines

Punk/Queer zine Political zine

Perzine Art zines

Other notable things about zines

• Social networks very important

• Zine making is a culture

• Content ranges from literary to trashy

• Production values range from professional to basic

• Can aim to provoke

• Most zinesters are under 30

How zines are treated at the National Library

Collecting The NLA:

• Does not rely on Legal Deposit to collect zines

• Collects a representative range of zines

• Has acquired several formed collections of zines

Collecting

Cataloguing

• Each zine is catalogued individually with a full record

• Zines often lack many of the most basic publication details i.e. Enumeration, pagination, statements of responsibilities etc.

• Our cataloguer’s judgement is exercised regularly

Internet resources

Internet resources

Internet resources and events

“Goldfish acid”

“1:25pm, City park, under tree. Raining”

In-house tools

Cataloguing Zines - Other issues

• Privacy

• Preservation

• End processing

Preservation

No Staples Please!

End processing

The Fringe Publishing Blog

• National Library Blog

• Communicating to Zinesters

• Advertising zines and other fringe material in our collection

“Cyaegha”

Zine reading

Questions?