Student Linus Shentu with two photography zines he donated to the Library
During the month of July, the Art Center Library was one of many zine libraries around the world to celebrate International Zine Month. Our zine-reading party showcased student and alumni made zines over break time snacks and coffee, and our button-making workshop gave students the chance to create tiny, wearable pieces of art.
At this point, dear reader, you may find yourself asking: What in the world is a zine anyway? And why are zines relevant to Art Center?
Zines are self-published, small-run mini-magazines typically produced by independent writers, artists, and activists. The magic of zines is that they are truly free and flexible forms of self-expression — anyone can make a zine about anything, and there are no rules dictating content, layout, or design. The do-it-yourself ethos is really what drives zine-making culture, so the only true limitation is one’s own creativity. For these reasons, the zine collection in the Library is perfectly suited to Art Center, where our students appreciate and are inspired by the ultimate creative freedom that zines embody. Our zines run the gamut from full-color booklets with sewn bindings to photocopied pamphlets, from how-to guides about non-toxic cleaning to hilariously well-conceived, illustrated works like Graham is a Weirdo or Labs with Abs. Ask a librarian like myself what a zine is, and I will quickly tell you that each zine is a miniature work of art.
The Library’s collection of zines is relatively new. And this being an art and design school, our collection focuses on items with interesting visual content, whether that be in the form of illustrations, unique layout, or innovative design. Our zine collection is also special because it is a circulating collection, meaning that members of the Art Center community can actually check them out from the Library for 3 weeks at a time. A number of other academic libraries also collect zines, but in most cases, the zines are either non-circulating or housed within special collections, where they may be viewed by appointment only.
Fun fact: did you know that our own faculty members (and alumni) Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd are very well-known and respected zinesters? Not only are they veteran zine makers, but they have also published their own guidebook to the zine world entitled Whatcha Mean What’s a Zine? (which we have in the Library). Esther and Mark have donated many of their zines to the Library’s collection — and we want your zine too! The Library is always seeking zine donations from the Art Center community, so if you have ever made a zine, whether for a personal project or for a class assignment, please consider giving us a copy. We will even waive $5 of library fines per zine donated.
Come visit me in the Library! It would be a joy to show you the Library’s ever-expanding zine collection so that you can discover the true magic of zines firsthand.
