Welcome to our collection of zine and indie culture libraries from Canada and around the world. If you would like us to add your library to the list, or if you would like to give us a tip about a library we’re missing, email [email protected].
Online Libraries
Zine Collection on the Archive
An online collection of THOUSANDS of zines. Zine collection can be seen here.
Quarantine Zine Club
Quarantine Zine Club is an online hub for zine enthusiasts! Our aim was to create an online space for people to engage with the spirit of zines and the zine community in these troubled times. Viewable zines can be found here.
Canada
Alberta
Calgary Zine Library (Calgary)
A collection by the Zine Tree Collective offering thousands of zines from local and international creators. (Facebook)
British Columbia
Douglas College Library (New Westminster)
Douglas College Libraries has a collection of zines to be taken out on an honour basis.
Lowercase Reading Room (Vancouver)
Housing over 1,000 titles on textual oddities ranging from pamphlets and manifestos to preciously handcrafted fur-lined books, this is a place you should visit if you can.
Vancouver Public Library’s zine collection (Vancouver)
The Vancouver Public Library’s has a catalogue of zines for your perusal.
Manitoba
Junto Library (Winnipeg)
A collectively-run library featuring zines and other political materials.
Nova Scotia
Anchor Archive Zine Library (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
The Anchor Archive Zine Library is open twice a week for patrons to enjoy the collection of over 4,000 zines which can be browsed and borrowed. To take zines out of the library one must become a member by either donating a suggested amount of money or donating a zine. They also have zine-making supplies and workshops, events, and a distro of their own. (Facebook)
Ontario
The Anarchist Library (Toronto, Ontario)
An archive focusing on anarchist texts for download. (Facebook)
The Canada Comics Open Library (Toronto, Ontario)
COL is founded by several librarians, zinesters, and comics makers based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They share a passion for comics and graphic novels, making art accessible, and creating a community through art and literature
Arrow Archive (Guelph)
Arrow archive has over 900 titles and is still growing. They accept donations.
Seneca Zine Library (Toronto)
A collaborative project by Seneca libraries, the School of Creative Arts and Animation, and the Independent Illustration Program, this zine library is home to 140 titles and includes a mix of purchased works and zines created by Seneca students.
Toronto Zine Library (Toronto, Ontario)
Dedicated to the integrity of zines, this place is run by a collective of zine makers, zine librarians, and zine readers who believe in promoting zines as a method of communication and expression through workshops and events. (Facebook)
The OCAD Zine Library (Toronto)
Located within the OCADU Campus at 115 Mccaul Street, if you are a student or alumni of OCADU you have access to hundreds of zines collective from everywhere, ranging in subject matter from perzines to art to politics. (Facebook)
White House Studio Project (Toronto)
Located in Kensington Market, The White House Studio Project is a multi-platform arts collective that features a casual in-house zine library. (Facebook)
USA
California
Los Angeles Public Library (Zine Library)
LAPL has a zine library that features “zines for all ages by local and international zinesters.” View the catalogue here.
San Francisco Public Library Little maga/zine collection
SFPL features a zine collection features little magazines and zines, the library “documents the underground/alternative press of the San Francisco Bay Area and its impact on the cultural, social and political life of the city.” View the catalogue here.
Colorado
Denver Zine Library (Denver)
Established in 2003 this zine library houses over 10,000 zines from all across the world. They also lend out zines and hold workshops, both in the library and elsewhere. (Facebook)
District of Columbia
D.C. Punk Archive (DC Public Library)
Includes significant coverage of DC punk/indie bands through interviews or reviews. Many of the zines in this collection have been digitized and can be viewed online.
Florida
Civic Media Center Zine Library (Gainesville)
With hundreds of zines in their directory, the Civic Media Center houses an impressive collection on a wide variety of topics. (Facebook)
Jacksonville Public Library Zine Project (Jacksonville)
A project with a mission to “circulate and preserve alternative media resources that inspire readers to re-examine and learn from alternative and under-served voices that represent our community.” Zine catalogue can be viewed here.
Illinois
Small Science Zine Library
The Small Science Zine Library is a collaboration of scientists, artists, students, and anyone else interested in science, this project produces small zines and web comics on a variety of topics . viewable zines here.
Indiana
IUB LGBTQ+ Library
The LGBTQ+ cultural centre at the Indiana University library in Bloomington features zines from all across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Zine catalog can be found here.
Massachusetts
Flywheel Zine Library (Easthampton)
Flywheel is a non-profit, volunteer-run, arts space featuring a zine library of 3000. (Facebook)
The Papercut Zine Library (Somerville)
The Papercut Zine Library is a lending library run by volunteer librarians with a focus on hand-made independently produced materials. Subject matter ranges from ’80s punk rock zines to hand-crafter perzines bound with yarn. Viewable Zines can be viewed here.
Maryland
D.C. Punk and Indie Fanzine Collection (University of Maryland)
Consists of hundreds of zines created by participants in DC’s punk/indie music scenes since the late 1970s.
Michigan
Michigan State University (Michigan)
MSU holds a collection of zines including titles from throughout the history of zines from all around the world. Zine catalogue can be viewed here.
Trumbullplex Zine Library (Detroit)
Founded in 1993 (though many artists have been calling it home since the 70s), Trumbullplex is an anarchist housing collective with an active show space and zine library. (Facebook)
Missouri
Paper Planes Zine Library (Springfield)
A project a project to bring zine awareness to the SWMO area. In addition to a zine library, Paper Planes also holds zine workshops and symposiums. (Facebook)
Nevada
Las Vegas Zine Library (Las Vegas)
The LV Zine Library is an independent library of hundreds of zines hosted by Beat Coffeehouse. There is a Zine Drop Box where you can add your zine to the collection. (Facebook)
New York
ABC No Rio Zine Library (New York)
Established in 1998, the ABC No Rio Zine Library contains over 12,000 (yes, twelve thousand!) titles dealing with independent, underground and marginal publications mostly focusing on addressing political and social issues, but ranging through music, travel, and the like.
Barnard College Zine Library (New York)
Housing zines written by cis- and transgender women with an emphasis on women of colour, the titles here focus on feminism and femme identity by people of all genders, dealing with subject matter from activism and anarchism to parenting, trans experience, etc. (Facebook)
New Paltz Zine Community (New York)
Founded in 2014, New Platz Zine Community is dedicated to making, collecting, and archiving zines. (Facebook)
North Carolina
Sallie Bingham Center
Located at the Duke University Library, the Sallie Bingham Center features a number of zine collections, their catalogue can be viewed here.
Oregon
Bend Zine Library (Bend)
A collection of 700+ zines located in Utilitu Sewing & Design near downtown Bend, Oregon. (Facebook)
Independent Publishing Resource Center (Portland)
Established in 1998, the center is dedicated to encouraging a visual and literary publishing community, providing a space to gather and exchange information and ideas, as well as to produce work. The IPRC also houses a zine library of over 6,000 self-published and independently produced materials that is browsable through the center’s online catalogue. (Facebook)
Pennsylvania
The Soapbox (Philadelphia)
A nonprofit community print shop and book and zine making centre. Soapbox also features a library of 2000 handmade publications and zines. (Facebook)
Tennessee
Chattanooga Zine Library (Chattanooga)
A collection of zines located in the Chattanooga Public Library’s 4th Floor, which is a public educational facility. (Facebook)
Washington
Collins Library Zine Collection
Located in the University of Puget Sound library, the Collins Library zine collection features about 500 zines on a variety of topics.
Wisconsin
Queer Zine Archive Project (Milwaukee)
Launched in 2003, the QZAP encourages current and emerging zine publishers to continue to create, valuing a collectivist approach that showcases the diversity of experiences falling under the ‘queer’ umbrella. (Facebook)
International
Zine Collection on the Archive
An online collection of THOUSANDS of zines.
Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia features a number of zines available for viewing if you hold a library card at the facility. Zine catalogue can be viewed here.
Zine Institute (Queensland)
A volunteer, artist-run institute with a lounge, zine library, and resource working space. (Facebook)
UK
The Cowley Club (Brighton)
Collectively owned and run by volunteers involved in grassroots social change, Cowley Club is a cafe and bookshop during the day, and a members bar during the night aiming to provide an alternative atmosphere. (Facebook)
London College of Communication Library Zine Collection (London)
A collection of nearly 2000 zines. The collection contains zines primarily made in the 21st century, though some date back to the 1970s. (Facebook) (blog)
Salford Zine Library (Manchester)
This library, which formed in 2010, aims to share any and all creative self-published work. (Facebook)
Zineopolis (Portsmouth)
The University of Portsmouth launched this zine collection after the Illustration Degree students created a group zine project in 2007. The library continues to house zines created by students at the school and those that have been donated from outside. Art zines are the focus of the collection.
Scotland
The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh (Edinburgh)
ACE is a collective run and used by a variety of groups and individuals aiming to share experiences, skills and knowledge in an atmosphere that lacks hierarchy. The centre collects printed matter that aims to help improve homes, communities, workplaces and lives. (Facebook)
Edinburgh zine library
Edinburgh Zine Library is a volunteer-run archive and reference library of contemporary zines. Zine catalogue can be viewed here.
Ireland
Forgotten Zine Archive (Dublin)
Volunteer-run community archive of zines with a mission to “serve and preserve the bourgeoning zine scene in Ireland.” (Facebook)
Italy
Fanzine Italiane (Italy)
A Fanzine site mostly in Italian but which uses Google Translate to share information in other languages. This site would be most useful to people who speak (or at least read) Italian. Zines can be viewed and downloaded here.
France
La Fanzinothèque (Poitiers)
French language zine library in Poitiers, France. (Facebook)
Les Musicophages (Toulouse)
This resource centre for contemporary music collects and shares zines and small press printings that relate to modern music. (Facebook)
Zines of the Zone (Nantes)
Zines of the Zone is a traveling, pop-up zine library going across Europe adding to their collection. (Facebook)
Netherlands
Zsa Zsa Zine (Amsterdam)
A comic and zine archive centre located in Amsterdam. The collection is focused on feminist, queer, and POC zines. Zsa Zsa has since shut down it’s operation but zines can still be downloaded here.
Philippines
Studio Soup Zine Library (Manila)
A distro and zine library located in Manila, Philippines. (Facebook)