Zine Collection

For the last couple of weeks I have been researching the Zines in the archive section. A Zine is a small book that usually comes in a format similar to a magazine or comic book; it is a self-published piece of work with original texts and images. Usually Zines are not sold on until there are 1,000 copies or less but occasionally there will be copies of 100 and profit is not the main intention. They are written in a variety of formats from computer printed to handwritten and sometimes even in the form of a comic book; they cover a wide range of topics including fan fiction, politics, art and design or they can be about anything that you want them to be. There are six boxes of Zines in the Library and each box contains about six or seven folders full with a unique collection of zines from all ages, some as recent as 2011 and some from the mid 90’s.

I enjoyed looking at the zines and would love to try and create my own one; Zines are available in most countries and almost every state in America and they are often mentioned in TV and Fiction. The rise of the internet in the late 1990’s was blamed for the decreasing popularity in Zines as many of them were transformed into websites. However they are still being embraced by a new generation as they often draw inspiration from craft, graphic design and artist’s books. Although zines are generally self-published there are still a few independent publishers including one in the UK called café royal, which was founded by Craig Atkinson in 2005, you can find many online although those are known as webzines.