The document summarizes Alycia Sellie's talk about establishing a zine collection at the Brooklyn College Library. It defines zines as self-published works that address topics overlooked by mainstream media. Sellie's goals for the collection were to showcase the library as a living archive, clearly define what materials are collected, encourage student participation, connect locally, and make the collection accessible. The collection focuses on zines related to Brooklyn or the college and those by students. The talk stresses the importance of libraries collecting alternative publications.

1. Alycia Sellie
Media and Cultural
Studies Librarian
Brooklyn College

2. THIS TALK
• What’s a zine?
• The Brooklyn College Library Zine Collection
• My goals and experiments with the collection
• (Why) libraries should (still) collect alternative
publications

3. WHAT IS A ZINE, ANYWAY?
Zines (a contraction of “magazines”) are independent
publications often authored/assembled by an individual or
small group, reproduced on a photocopier, and distributed
inexpensively in small runs, or traded from person to person.
Zines are intentionally print publications. People make zines
today because they want to cut, fold, paste and stamp and
create something by hand.

4. In terms of content,
zines are written
about any topic that
you can think of
(and more likely they
discuss topics that you
haven’t ever thought
about).
Often zinesters begin
publishing because
they feel that topics
that are important to
them are being
overlooked or ignored
in the mainstream
media.

5. GOAL: SHOWCASE OUR LIBRARY AS A
LIVING ARCHIVE
“I’d go to the elementary school library and doodle
poems into the books. The teachers thought I was
defacing school property but what I was actually
trying to do was put myself up on a library shelf.”
–Zohra Saed

6. GOAL: CLEARLY DEFINE WHAT WE COLLECT
Our collection primarily consists of:
(1) Print zines. This is a print zine collection, and thus no e-zines or online materials
are accepted as part of the collection at this time.
(2) Zines that are connected to Brooklyn, support the interests of the students at
Brooklyn College, or would support the curriculum of Brooklyn College.
(3) Zines made by Brooklyn College students or alumni–any zine made by our
students or alumni will be accepted into the collection (regardless of where it was
created or any connections to Brooklyn).
(4) Zines about zines, zine-making and zine culture.
(5) Zines that discuss life from the perspective of members of the Working Class, or
zines that are made by people/students who balance work, life and scholarship
simultaneously.

7. GOAL: STUDENT PARTICIPATION

8. GOAL: REACH OUT & CONNECT LOCALLY

9. GOAL: MAKE THE COLLECTION
SEARCHABLE, ACCESSIBLE, AND EVEN
SERENDIPITOUS

10. GETTING THE WORD OUT:
THE ZINE COLLECTION BLOG

11. KICKING OFF THE COLLECTION:
OPENING & EXHIBITION

12. (WHY) YOU SHOULD COLLECT
ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS

13. COLLECTION BUILDING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS
Keep your eyes open. CHRIS DODGE
Pick up printed matter wherever you go: community centers, co-ops, record stores, coffee shops,
laundromats, doctors' offices, the sidewalk.
Glean information from these about other unfamiliar publications.
Send for sample copies of things that sound interesting.
Don't be afraid to occasionally read things with smeary ink, sharp staples, small print, and clumsy
design.
Attend zine shows, comics conventions, book fairs, and the like.
Ask friends who travel to send you their finds. (Reimburse them or reciprocate.)
Make a deal with someone at a newsstand or bookstore to procure the samples they receive from
distributors. (Tip of the hat to Jim Danky for this idea.)
Monitor Internet discussion groups.
Foster connections with everyone in the community--including prisoners, children, homeless
people, publishers, authors, journalists, and activists.
Those publications given away in your foyers-- local arts papers, lesbigay magazines, ethnic
newspapers: catalog these and keep back issues.
Leave the comfort of your offices and reference desks to go treasure hunting out of doors.

14. GO FOR IT!

15. Alycia Sellie
asellie@brooklyn.cuny.edu
brooklyncollegezines.commons.gc.cuny.edu

16. PHOTO CREDITS
Slide 4:
Sydney MCA Zine Fair (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirvettium/3602824051) / mirvettium
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirvettium/) / http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
2.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/)
Slide 8:
ZLUC Wrap Up Session (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortensejones/3360727080/in/
set-72157615387343268) / Hortense Jones (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortensejones/) /
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)
Slide 11:
http://thekingsmanpaper.com/2012/09/fold-staple-share-welcoming-the-brooklyn-college-
zine-library-collection/