Crafts & Hobbies #64: Zines

Would I make my own zine? I actually had my own zine years ago (okay, like a decade or so ago). It was a lot of fun--cutting and pasting (back when that involved scissors and glue), running them off at the copy place and sneaking in as many free copies as I could get away with. Good times. My zine included whatever submissions I could get from my friends. That usually included music reviews, stories, poems, some art, and reviews of the local music scene (St. Pete, Fla. circa 1990s).

As for zines finding their way into libraries, I definitely think they deserve some space in the stacks. Zines capture a different voice in our culture than regular avenues of publication, and they are just as valuable as any other from an archival stand point. It's all part of our experience, and it's probably interesting to someone. I don't know how much space a public library would be willing to give up for them, but I definitely see them in special collections, and I think public libraries might be interested in collecting locally produced zines.