Zines — Zine Basics

Zines (rhymes with “beans”) are low-barrier, low-budget photocopied publications in which authors are in full control of the entire process of creating a publication, from writing and layout to printing and distribution. Zines are made for the purpose of sharing information, and allow unfiltered access to the ideas, expressions, perspectives, and experiences of historically marginalized or under-represented subcultures and social movements. In times of strife, zines offer a cathartic art form to create and share stories of lived experiences and play a large role in communication for members of social and political movements.

Wicked Meta #2: a Zine about Zines tells more about the history of zines, how to make them, and how to use them in your research.

UConn Today article "Get Away from Screens; Make and Read Zines at Homer Babbidge Library," by Joseph DeVito (11/30/2022). 

d'Archive podcast, Episode 49: Liberated Zine Zone (published March 1, 2023) available through WHUS.org or wherever you get podcasts.

This episode of d’Archive features a conversation with metadata librarian Rhonda Kauffman about her zine collection (1994-2019) donated to the archives & special collections in 2019. Starting in 2020, Rhonda has worked to bring zines to the UConn Library and to help establish the Liberated Zine Zone on Level B of Homer Babbidge Library, a circulating zine collection actively seeking to incorporate student created zines.

If you have questions about using or making zines at UConn Library, please reach out!

• General information: zines@uconn.edu
• Zines in Archives & Special Collections: archives@uconn.edu
• Using the UConn Library Maker Studio: kimberly.mcnamara@uconn.edu