July is International Zine Month and July 21 is Zine Library Day, a chance to celebrate self-publishing collections around the world. Zines are self-published works, made for passion rather than for profit. Libraries collect zines because they represent perspectives and topics that aren’t included in other forms of media.
The zine collections in the UI Libraries are in Special Collections and University Archives. You can learn more about them here. There is even a zine about the zine collections, which you can always find in the Zine Machine, the zine vending machine on the first floor in Main Library.
There are other zine libraries in the Midwest, as well, including:
- The Read/Write Library in Chicago.
- The Zine Apothecary in Minneapolis.
- Michigan State University Special Collections in East Lansing.
Finally, a few zine libraries on the move or online:
- The Queer Zine Archive Project is a collectively-run initiative to digitize zines by and about queer people.
- The Fly Away Zinemobile is a traveling collection of zines. Check their website – they’ll probably be stopping through Iowa City in August.
To celebrate Zine Library Day, come down to psz downstairs at 120 N. Dubuque on July 21 between noon and 6pm. There will be a pop-up zine library, materials to make your own zines, and snacks, of course. At 6, we will parade the three blocks to Public Space One to use their copier. You can RSVP on Facebook.
