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Zines (pronounced 'zeenz') are a type of printed matter, but they don't have a clear-cut definition.
The name itself is believed to derive from "fanzines," a term for amateur, fan-produced magazines that would be created and shared in reference to the content of sci-fi pulp magazines of the 1930s and '40s. Still, some say it's just a shortened form of "magazines."
Generally, they are characterized as DIY self-publications with small print runs. Their content tends to lie outside the mainstream, which lends to their self-produced, indie nature. Further, they are usually self-distributed, low-budget, require little technical training/machinery access to produce, and are created as a means of expression or communication rather than profit. They can be produced by an individual or by a group.
At the heart of it, zines are a vehicle for people to produce and disseminate information independently. They circumvent the strictures, inequities, and professionalism of the commercial publishing industry.
You can find some of the zines in our collection through our online catalog, OwlCat. Within OwlCat, search for the keyword "zines" and use the location filter to limit to "Special Collections."
When you find an item(s) you want to view, or if you need help finding zines, contact Morgan Yanni (myanni@otis.edu), our Reference and Special Collections Librarian.
To learn more about zines and their history, try browsing in the call number ranges of NC968 and N7433.3
Behind the Zines by
Social networks are dominating today s headlines, but they are not the only platforms that are radically changing the way we communicate. Creatives such as designers, photographers, artists, researchers, and poets are disseminating information about themselves and their favorite subjects not via predefined media such as Twitter or blogs, but through printed or other self-published projects so-called zines. Those who publish zines are mostly interested in sole authorship, namely that all components including text, images, layout, typography, production, and distribution are firmly in the hands of one person or a small group. At their best, the results convey a compelling and consistent atmosphere and push against the established creative grain in just the right way. They provoke with surprising and non-linear food for thought. In short, zines are advancing the evolution of today s media. With a cutting-edge selection of international examples, Behind the Zines introduces the broad range of zines that exists today. These include zines that function as a new kind of project-oriented portfolio to showcase a self-profile or document an exhibit. While some act as (pseudo) scientific treatises to call the reader s attention to a specific topic, others serve as playrooms for creatives to run riot and express themselves and communicate with each other in a space that is free from editorial restrictions. The book examines the key factors that distinguish various zines. It introduces projects in which the printing process significantly influences aesthetics or in which limited distribution to a small, clearly defined target audience becomes part of the overall concept. Behind the Zines not only documents outstanding work, but also shows how the self-image of those who make zines impacts the scene as a whole. Through interviews with people involved in zine production and distribution, the book sheds light on various strategies for this evolving media form.
Ripped, Torn and Cut by
Ripped, torn and cut offers a collection of original essays exploring the motivations behind - and the politics within - the multitude of fanzines that emerged in the wake of British punk from 1976. Sniffin' Glue (1976-77), Mark Perry's iconic punk fanzine, was but the first of many, paving the way for hundreds of home-made magazines to be cut and pasted in bedrooms across the UK. From these, glimpses into provincial cultures, teenage style wars and formative political ideas may be gleaned. An alternative history, away from the often-condescending glare of London's media and music industry, can be formulated, drawn from such titles as Ripped & Torn, Brass Lip, City Fun, Vague, Kill Your Pet Puppy, Toxic Grafity, Hungry Beat and Hard as Nails. The first book of its kind, this collection reveals the contested nature of punk's cultural politics by turning the pages of a vibrant underground press.
From Codex to Hypertext by
The start of the twenty-first century has brought with it a rich variety of ways in which readers can connect with one another, access texts, and make sense of what they are reading. At the same time, new technologies have also opened up exciting possibilities for scholars of reading and reception in offering them unprecedented amounts of data on reading practices, book buying patterns, and book collecting habits. In From Codex to Hypertext, scholars from multiple disciplines engage with both of these strands. This volume includes essays that consider how changes such as the mounting ubiquity of digital technology and the globalization of structures of publication and book distribution are shaping the way readers participate in the encoding and decoding of textual meaning. Contributors also examine how and why reading communities cohere in a range of contexts, including prisons, book clubs, networks of zinesters, state-funded programs designed to promote active citizenship, and online spaces devoted to sharing one's tastes in books. As concerns circulate in the media about the ways that reading -- for so long anchored in print culture and the codex -- is at risk of being irrevocably altered by technological shifts, this book insists on the importance of tracing the historical continuities that emerge between these reading practices and those of previous eras. In addition to the volume editor, contributors include Daniel Allington, Bethan Benwell, Jin Feng, Ed Finn, Danielle Fuller, David S. Miall, Julian Pinder, Janice Radway, Julie Rak, DeNel Rehberg Sedo, Megan Sweeney, Joan Bessman Taylor, Molly Abel Travis, and David Wright.
D.I.Y. Design It Yourself by
Also available on ProQuest Ebook Central. Not satisfied with the new T-shirts on sale at the local mall? Maybe you'd like a wedding invitation that expresses your own vision, not your party planner's? How about some personalized stationery? An upgrade to your website? A business card? A poster for your political campaign? A CD package for your band? Sound good? Then get up off your couch and Design It Yourself! Avoid graphic identity theft: build your own. Ellen Lupton, bestselling author ofThinking with Type, will show you how. DIY: Design It Yourself, provides you with all the tools you'll need to create your own projects, from conception through production. Here you will find: - simple ideas on how you can "think like a designer" - clear and coherent explanations of design technologies, from silk-screening to web development - what materials you'll need to get your job done - where to find and buy them - how much time and experience your project demands - diagrams that show how to handle complex tasks - basic typographic dos and don'ts - the history and theory of the DIY design movement - hundreds of innovative and beautiful projects for inspiration No more excuses. With this book, virtually any design task is within your grasp. Just do it (yourself)!
Self Publish, Be Happy by
An economic and cultural revolution has shaken the photobook world in the last five years: self-publishing. An army of photographers operating as publishers have had an instrumental role in today's photobook renaissance. This book offers a do-it-yourself manual and a survey of key examples of self-published success stories, as well as a self-publishing manifesto and list of resources. The manual portion of this volume offers insight, advice, and rudimentary how-tos for the photographer interested in self-publishing. The survey offers an overview of the contemporary self-publishing landscape and includes a contribution by the Museum of Modern Art's art librarian and bibliographer David Senior, which grounds today's activities in a legacy of artists' books and collectives. The case studies themselves will each illustrate a particular theme and genre of self-publishing (such as diary, documentary, or conceptual object), and will be accompanied by personal testimonies from the artists who created them. Author Bruno Ceschel, founder of the Self Publish, Be Happy organization, provides a rallying cry for all those involved in the contemporary photobook revolution-a moment in which the photobook, in all its infinitesimal manifestations, has never before been so omnipresent in our cultural landscape, nor so critical to the photographer's practice. Self Publish, Be Happy, founded by Bruno Ceschel in 2010, collects, studies, and celebrates self-published photobooks through an ongoing program of workshops, live events, and on/ offline projects. Its London-based collection contains more than two thousand publications. Self Publish, Be Happy is the physical manifestation of a worldwide online community formed of a new, ever-evolving generation of young artists, who experiment, stretch, and play with the medium of photography.
Put About: A critical anthology on independent publishing by 
Zine Soup: A collection of international zines and self-published art books by 
Girl Zines: Making media, doing feminism by 
Telegram by
In Telegram: A Collection of Twenty-Seven Issues, Maranda tells tales of daily adventures, friendship, gender identity, falling in love with bicycles, getting tattoos, moving out, going crazy, and their experiences with inpatient hospitalizations. They also write about their relationship with their twin sister, and learning how to take care of their mental health within and without conventional institutions, identifying as genderqueer, getting sober, living a creative and meaningful daily life, and finding reasons to keep on going.
At its heart and in its guts, Telegram is about seeking magic in the smallest things, staying crazy in a world that wants us to fake sanity or die, and learning how to take good care of ourselves and each other.
Fanzine: Vanilla Milk by 
The Book of Zines by
A scrapbook of artwork, humorous writing, and articles culled from the nation's zines--underground magazines produced by individuals and small publishers--includes off-the-wall tips on dating and reviews of grotesque products.
Newsstand The by
The most comprehensive anthology of contemporary zine culture of New York and beyond, including more than a thousand contemporary artist publications and independently produced zines, books, and artworks. The Newsstand was a pop-up conceptual retail store that transformed an ordinary subway hub into a mecca for independently published magazines, books, comics, and zines. Located within Brooklyn's Metropolitan Avenue L/G stop in 2013, the temporary space hosted events and art exhibitions in which the artists, acting as guest clerks, were given carte blanche to transform the space. In November 2015, The Newsstand will be re-created and built to scale at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, including the zines and books sold in its original location. The Newsstand catalogue features images of the zines, books, and ephemera sold; documentation of the events and exhibitions; images of the guest clerks and artists; essays by leading cultural figures; and interviews with the publishers, artists, commuters, MTA workers, and police officers influenced by The Newsstand. Designed in the style of a zine, this book not only documents a prolific time within independent publishing but also the thriving community that supports it.
Destroy All Monsters Magazine 1976-1979 by
Formed in 1973, the Detroit band Destroy All Monsters was a wild and reckless synthesis of psychedelia, proto-punk, heavy metal, noise and performance art. The collective hailed from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and consisted of Cary Loren, Mike Kelley, Niagara and Jim Shaw (with later members including Ron Asheton of the Stooges and Michael Davis of the MC5). Later emerging as extremely distinctive individual artists, collectively the group forged new terrain in art, music, performance, theater and video. Destroy All Monsters released very little recorded music until Thurston Moore issued a three-CD compilation in 1994, but they published six issues of a now legendary and much sought-after zine, also titled Destroy All Monsters. This publication collects those six zines, released between 1976 and 1979, and also includes parts of a lost seventh issue that never saw publication. The Destroy All Monsters zines comprise a vibrant array of collage, writing, photography and other miscellanea by Kelley, Loren, Niagara and Shaw, and together provide insight into the collective's kaleidoscopic vision of the dystopian values of their time.
Kim Gordon: Chronicles Vol. 2 by
In Chronicles Vol. 2, Kim Gordon brings together some of her most personal drawings from recent years--drawings that she made for her daughter, Coko, for her nieces, for her partner Thurston Moore, and friends. This second book of Gordon's work from Nieves goes beyond the photographic glimpses of Gordon the musician, which were pictured in Chronicles Vol. 1, providing the reader access to her most intimate world. This volume features drawings, collages and paintings, most of which have never before been published.
Zines! by
This is the first comprehensive guidebook to the Zine Movement of self-publishing which started anew in the early 1990s, and continues with Internet blogs and publications like Found. Used in college classes, this how-to volume covers all aspects of self-publishing, including layout and design, promotion, marketing and distribution. Historical background covers everything from Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack to the science-fiction mimeographed zines of the 20s. Zines are independent, not-for-profit publications that counter the corporate monoculture of mainstream media, and are thus instrumental in keeping the torch of liberty and freethinking burning. Some very funny stories and illustrations punctuate this alternative-culture document from the underground.
Notes from Underground: Zines and the politics of alternative culture by Zines produced by Otis students are held separately and have not been cataloged yet. To view these items, please get in touch with Vickie Thomas (vthomas@otis.edu), our Circulation Manager.
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