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BCPL Zine Collection
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BCPL Zine Collection FAQ
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Other Zine Libraries
Zine Review Sites
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Where to Purchase Zines
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Zine Events and Conferences
Resources for Librarians
Anna (With Heart in Mouth) browses after
April 18, 2006 zine author reading.
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BCPL Zine Collection
- BCPL has a diverse selection of over 400 Zines and mini-comics.
They can be checked out from the library.
- Zines are located at the
Cockeysville
Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library.
- To Search our catalog for Zines, you can search by either title
or author. To browse the whole collection, type "zines" in the
Catalog Search box.
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BCPL Zine Collection
FAQ:
Q: What is a zine and how do you say that word?
A: Zines (pronounced "zeen," like "bean") are self-published
magazines usually (though not always) written by one person or a few
individuals. They come in all shapes and sizes, usually only cost a few
dollars, and are made by all kinds of people. Zines can be informative,
obsessive, hilarious, sad, rude, inspirational, hand-scrawled, or neatly
typed. They can be on any topic at all, but often represent points of view
missed by mainstream media/publishing houses. Adapted from "A to Zine; How
to Build a Winning Zine Collection at Your
Library" by Julie Bartel and a statement by Sean Stewart writing on www.newpages.com
Q: Where can I find BCPL's zines?
A: Zines are currently located only at BCPL's
Cockeysville Library. If you
are not near the Cockeysville
branch, you can get any Zine title sent to the branch of your choice at no
charge. You can do this yourself by using the "Place Hold" option in
either of the BCPL online catalogs, by calling any branch and asking a
librarian to place a hold for you, or visit any branch and ask at the
Information Desk. It will take about three business days for your
zines to arrive. You will be notified (by phone or email) when your zine arrivals at your
branch and you will then have seven days from the day you are notified to
pick up your items. If you do not pick up your items there will be a $1.00
fee for non-pick up attached to your library account.
Q: Can I return my zines to another branch?
A: Yes, zines can be returned to any BCPL branch.
Q: Can I suggest a zine for the library to buy?
A: Yes, we take suggestions. E-mail your title requests (up to 5) to
bcplzines@gmail.com
Q: Does the library accept zine donations?
A: Yes! The zines will be evaluated, and any zines not added to our
collection will be sold to benefit the library at zine events. Please
e-mail
bcplzines@gmail.com
before making a donation.
Q: What if I can not find a zine I want in the BCPL catalog?
A: Zines are searchable by title, author or by their call number, ZINE. If
a title search did not work, try searching for the author or the call
number. Here are some hints to help you search by call number. The letter
after the call number will be the first letter of the title, excluding "A"
or "The". For example, the zine "The East Village Inky" has the call
number "ZINE E". So if you want "The East Village Inky", try a call number
search using "ZINE E". Many zine authors use pseudonyms, first names
only or they work on many different zines. Therefore, it makes more sense
to catalog our zines according to their title. Again, the words "A" and
"The" are disregarded by the catalog if they are the first word in the
title.
Q: I don't live in Baltimore County. Can I get zines sent to another
library?
A: Yes! Zines are available for
Direct Loan
to Anne Arundel, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Harford County and Baltimore
City public libraries. Just call us and we will send them to your local
branch. If you live elsewhere in the country and your library offers
Interlibrary Loan service zines can be ordered by asking your librarian.
Q: Can I reserve a zine that is checked out right now?
A: Yes!
Holds
can be placed on zines that are checked out of the library, just as they
would be placed on other material.
Q: How long can I keep them?
A: Zines have the same loan period as most other library materials, 21
days. You may also renew them one time
online
or by phone through our Shelf Help line at 410-494-9063.
 Q: How do I find them on the shelf?
A: Like the CDs or New Fiction, they are a browsing collection, meaning
that they are not strictly alphabetized. All the A’s are together, then
all the B’s, but order within each letter is looser. The zines are in
order by title, rather than by author. Also, you can always ask a
librarian to help you find any library materials!
Q: Do you have a mailing list for programs, events, workshops and other
zine stuff?
Why, yes! Just email
bcplzines@gmail.com
with “mailing list” in the header to be added to our list.
Q: Why does BCPL have a zine collection?
A: BCPL is always looking at new formats and trying to reach underserved
populations. Zines hold appeal for many library users (or potential
library users) in their twenties and thirties. Zines may attract this set
of users to the library. The small-press voice represents the
counterculture and offers greater diversity in our materials. Also, there
is high local interest in zines, as is shown by the number of zines
produced in Baltimore, local bookstores carrying zines, and zine or
independent comics fests held in the region. There are also two
independent zine libraries in the area.
Not every zine is for everyone. Zine content is decidedly offbeat and
candid, but the decision to create this collection is in keeping with
BCPL's mission statement which states:
Baltimore County residents will have access to innovative library
services, delivered in an efficient and effective manner, which will:
• Encourage a love of reading
• Address the learning needs of children and adults
• Offer a welcoming community environment.
Do any other libraries have zines?
A: Yes! All these libraries have collections, as do
several universities:
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Carnegie Library,
Pittsburgh, PA
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Kansas City Public Library,
Kansas City, MO
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Linebaugh Public Library,
Murfreesboro, TN
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Minneapolis Public Library Walker
Branch, Minneapolis, MN.
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Multnomah County Public Library,
Portland, OR
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New York Public Library,
New York City
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New York State Library,
Albany, NY
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Salt Lake City Public Library,
Salt Lake City, UT
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San Francisco Public Library,
San Francisco, CA
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Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA
- Ypsilanti District Library,
Ypsilanti, MI
There are
also many independent zine libraries. The idea of including zines in the
library is gaining popularity- in fact, the Library of Congress just
established a subject heading for zines.
Dave Cookson (Davezine) displays his
wares at our April 18, 2006 reading.
Other Zine Libraries
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ABC No Rio Zine Library
156 Rivington Street
212.254.3697 ext. 323
Contains over seven thousand items on subjects such as music, culture,
politics, personal experience and travel. |
The Alternative Press
Center Library
1443 Gorsuch Avenue
Baltimore, MD, 21218
A large archive of the alternative press in the U.S., the last five years
are available to browse. Call before visiting. |
Barnard College Collection
Barnard College
3009 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
Barnard's zines are primarily in the area of women's studies, featuring
personal and political publications. |
Charm City Art Space
1729 Maryland Ave
Baltimore, MD 21201
Community art space which includes a “nifty little zine library focusing
mostly on punk rock culture.” |
The Little Magazine Collection
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
One of the oldest zine libraries in the country! |
Salt Lake City Public Library
210 East 400 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Currently the collection has about 6,000 zines, 15 subscriptions, and a
number of reference books.
A thorough listing of zine libraries can be found here: http://www.zinebook.com/resource/libes.html |
Radical mama China Martens
(The Future Generation) reads at the
October, 13, 2005 opening.
Zine Review Sites
Broken Pencil
Canadian “Magazine of Zine Culture and Independent Arts” |
Xerography Debt
Baltimore-based “Review zine with Perzine Tendencies” ( perzine = personal
zine) |
The NewPages Zine Rack
The zine portion of “Alternatives in Print and Media” website with reviews
by a Hampden zinester |
Zine World
A Reader’s Guide to the Underground Press |
Patrick Tandy (Smile Hon,You’re in Baltimore,
Eight Stone Press solo projects) reading
about B-movies at the opening.
Where to Purchase Zines
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Atomic Books
1100 West 36th Street
Baltimore, MD 21211 |
Microcosm Publishing
5307 North Minnesota Ave.
Portland, OR 97217 |
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Normal's Books and Records
425 E. 31st Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218 |
Powell's Books
1005 W. Burnside
Portland, OR 97209 |
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Quimby's
1854 W. North Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622 |
Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse
800 St. Paul Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202 |
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Stickfigure Distro
P.O. Box 55462
Atlanta, GA 30308 |
Wooden Shoe Books
508 South Fifth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147 |
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Countless other distros and stores! |
The prolific Davida Gypsy Breier (Leeking Ink The
Glovebox Chronicles, Xerography Debt)
reading at our opening.
Zine Events and Conferences
Dan Taylor (The Hungover Gourmet) read at our
October, 13, 2005
opening, and again in April
of
2006. His story of a chicken-wing eating
competition fascinates and disgusts us.
Resources for
Librarians
Library Card: The
Baltimore County Public Library Zine Collection [PDF]
Thinking of starting a zine collection? Want to find out how we started
ours? Read our zine!
Library
Journal
As of March 2008, Library Journal has zine reviews!
Your Zine Tool Kit, A DIY
Collection
Are you a librarian considering zines for your collection? Here's a helpful
"tool kit" from Jenna Freedman, Alycia Sellie and BCPL's Miriam DesHarnais.
The New Monastic Librarians
By Chris Dodge, Utne Magazine July/August 2005. Profiles of some movers and
shakers within the zine librarianship world.
Librarian Miriam DesHarnais with Cartoonist
Emily Flake at Indie Comics A-Go-Go.
What Is a Zine?
Select
this link to access another zines podcast,
Some Favorite Zines.
Anna (With Heart in Mouth) graciously
traveled from D.C. to
Baltimore County
to read at our April 18, 2006 event.
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Tell us you love us…
We are a pilot project, which means
that how well the zines circulate affects our future. If you like the
idea of having a zine and comics collection at your public library,
please come see us, and tell your friends! Feedback on how the
collection or our readings have been of use to you is another
important way for us to gauge our success. E-mail us with any thoughts
or suggestions at
bcplzines@gmail.com
or comment our blog!
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BCPL Zine Collection Photos
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Cartoonists together! |
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Cartoonist Mark Burrier at Indie Comics A-Go-Go program. |
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Nadja Martens (A Zine With A.D.D.) after her first author reading. |
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Cartoonist Brian Ralph
at April '07 Indie Comics A-Go-Go Program. |
Baltimore County Public Library, Towson Maryland USA
Last Revised:
16 May 2008
Feedback
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