Selectors: Miriam Saperstein and Gabby Bray

Zines (rhymes with beans) are a type of publication, usually made and printed using whatever supplies are at hand, at low cost.

A great definition comes from zine-maker and academic, Rafael Neis, who writes: "A zine, short for fanzine or magazine, is a small, independently published booklet, usually made on paper and reproduced with a photocopying machine or printer. Its formats, genres, and contents can vary widely. Historically, people and communities outside mainstream power structures (from punks, anarchists, to people of color, to queerfeminists) have made zines. Zines, and their reproduction and circulation, offer an alternative to commodified or hierarchical production of conventional print publication. The same is true for their ability to circumvent and bypass the constraints of the contemporary art world." Read more at the Association for Jewish Studies Website. 

"Denver Zine Library" by Elly Blue is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

What goes in a zine? Whatever you want! People have made zines for visual art, for activism, for documenting a process, for journaling, for sharing poetry or research or fun facts about a subject. 

When starting a zine it can be helpful to ask, who do you want to communicate with? What do you want to share? 

Thomas, S. (2018). Zines for teaching: A survey of pedagogy and implications for academic librarians. Portal (Baltimore, Md.), 18(4), 737-758. 

Alexander, J. (2002). Digital spins: The pedagogy and politics of student-centered e-zines. Computers and Composition, 19(4), 387-410. 

Honma, T. (2016). From archives to action: Zines, participatory culture, and community engagement in Asian America. Radical Teacher (Cambridge), 105(105), 33-43.

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