Welcome
Update: All the latest zine news and reviews are now on our Zines Blog
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About the Wellington City Libraries' Zine Collection
Wellington City Libraries has a collection of nearly 1300 zines (and growing!) with special emphasis on locally produced Wellington zines.
Zine (pronounced "zeen") comes from the words "magazine" and "fanzine" and is a self published, inexpensively produced publication with a small circulation. Zines come in paper form, usually written in computer-printed or handwritten text, photo-copied and stapled.
People who make zines are motivated by a desire to express themselves. For that reason a zine can be on any topic from art and music to politics and social commentary.
Zines offer a unique insight into people, their points of view, politics, philosophies and lifestyles, while locally produced zines also help preserve information about our history and culture that might otherwise be lost.
At Wellington City Libraries, zines are divided into two collections:
Open access zine collection
Our collections are located at Arapaki Manners Library and Newtown Library.
We feature zines created locally, nationally and internationally on a range of topics sure to interest just about everyone. We have zines full of crafty DIY instructions and recipes, travel zines, music zines, self-published comic books, and loads more.
All these zines can be issued for 3 weeks at no charge. So please grab a few to read in the Library or take home with you.
Making a zine
Making a zine is fun, frustrating, exhilarating and satisfying. There are some great places on the web that show you how, talk about content, binding, distribution and all the other things you need to know before you start. A really comphrensive site is this one from zinebook.com: How to make a zine.
We also have a number of zine-making books that could be of use to anyone wanting to start a zine.
Stolen Sharpie Revolution, by Alex Wrekk
"A brief, but engaging, and eminently useful guide to doing a zine. From tools, to layout, copying, printing, trading, promotion, ordering, mailing, distribution, and a whole lot more. Over 150 (albeit pocket sized!) packed pages. The new third edition includes 32 more pages of distributor listings, stores, and libraries that work with zines." (Book Description, Amazon US)
Whatcha mean, what's a zine? : the art of making zines and mini comics by Mark Todd and Esther Peal Watson, with contributions by more than 20 creators of Indie comics and magazines.
"This book is for anyone who wants to create their own zine. It's for learning tips and tricks from contributors who have been at the fore front of the zine movement. It's for getting inspired to put thoughts and ideas down on paper. It's for learning how to design and print your own zine so you can put it in others" hands. Whatcha Mean, What's a Zine? is for anyone who has something to say." (Book Description, Amazon US)
Contact us
We would love your feedback, ideas on zines to buy, and any questions you have about the collection. Please email us with any feedback.