News
You can now take zines home with you!
Due to popular demand, zines at the Central Library are now able to be borrowed. They are free of charge and issued for 4 weeks. Take as many as you like! - there is no limit on the number you can take out at any one time.
Enjoy and send us an email to let us know what you think.
Steph, Kylie and Carmel
The Wellington City Libraries' Zine Collection
Wellington City Libraries has a collection of over 500 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.
Zinesters (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
- Closed access Wellington zine collection
Open access zine collection
This collection is located next to the enquiries desk in the Arts, Music and Literature section on the 1st floor of the Central Library.
It features 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 4 weeks at no charge. So please grab a few to read in the Library or take home with you.
How do I find them on the shelf?
The open access zine collection is a browsing collection and currently not catalogued. However, title lists of our holdings are available below.
Also, to help you navigate the collection, zines are arranged into 7 colour coded categories:
- Red - Personal zines. These zines are usually personal insights or stories inspired by the author's life.
- Yellow - Art and literary zines
- Black - DIY zines
- White - Miscellaneous zines, including history and politics
- Blue - Music
- Orange - Comics (note: green stickers indicate New Zealand comics)
- Green - New Zealand
As zines are often comprised of more than one of these categories, the colour represents the chief element of the zine.
Please remember that if there is something in particular that you are looking for and can't find it, ask for help at the enquiries desk.
[ Zines alphabetically by title (Scrollable) | Printable View ]
[ Zines by colour-coded category (Scrollable) | Printable View ]
Closed access Wellington zine collection
This reference collection is housed in the rare books room on the 2nd floor of the Central Library and features zines produced by Wellington based zinesters.
The collection is indexed in the Wellington Local History Database at:
http://www.wcl.govt.nz/wellington/aotearoa.html.
To see a list of all our holdings, enter in the keyword: zines. To search for a specific zine, try entering in the title.
To view the collection or for more information, please ask at the 2nd floor enquiries desk.
Not sure where to start?
The gold 'librarian's choice' sticker is our way of highlighting some of our favourite zines. Using the sticker as a guide is a great way to browse if you don't have a lot of time or are new to the world of zines. You can also check some zine reviews below.
Zine reviews
Craphound #6: Deaths, Telephones, and Scissors!
"In case you missed it the first time around, Crap Hound - A Picture Book for Discussion and Activity is, between a brief introduction and the end credits, pure imagery. Each page is filled with high-contrast line art, culled from vintage catalogs, advertising, obscure books, and found ephemera. Through sheer volume of artfully arranged iconography, issue No. 6 visually explores the popular meaning, cultural ideals and historic symbolism of Deaths, Telephones, and Scissors. Perfect for zine makers, graphic designers, tattoo artists, or just someone who needs a specific, perfect image." (Mircocosm Publishing)
Dvorak Zine
"Have you ever wondered about the placement and composition of the keys on your keyboard? Is it random? Is there a pattern? Is there even logic to it? Alec and company did their homework and discovered that the placement of keys was not meant for speed or accuracy but rather determined when certain typewriter keys needed more space between them so the strikes would not get stuck on each other! When more advanced and ergonomic keyboard designs were created they were ignored and QWERTY continued to rule the school. This is a comic guide to the future of keyboarding - the DVORAK style! With keys placed for maximum speed and accuracy, this zine is a truly a kind of activism that everyone who uses a computer should get behind!" (Microcosm Publishing)
Found Magazine, reviewed by Carmel
"OK so this is more of a magazine than a zine but it is carried by the zine ethos so I'll review it anyway. Found is a magazine compiled of found items. Notes, lost cat signs, you-are-banned-from-the-library letters, it's great! It is very fun to sit back and read through Found (issue 4 is the one I'm looking at) and laugh at how lame some of the notes sound (mom, Fluffy is dead, can you leave me $10)."
Captain Howdy - Mystery Zine by Kerry-Ann Lee, reviewed by Carmel
"From the author of the excellent 'Help My Snowman's Burning' comes this awesome "zine about new weird stuff". Included is the helpful dream dictionary (where I learned that I will soon lose a friend or a relative, as I dreamed my teeth fell out), mask template for owners use, and a how to guide to making your own Mr Stabpullhead the Shrunken Applehead out of an apple and string. This girl's a genius!"
Incredibly Hot Sex With Hideous People #27 by Bryce Galloway, reviewed by Kylie
Fart Party #4 by Julia Wertz
"This is the latest zine from Wellington writer Bryce Galloway. He talks about his life with his defacto wife and two preschool children. As Bryce puts it 'I used to be an urban punk, but now I'm a suburban dad.' A very funny read and a must for the young inner-city parent."
"Do you need a break from the world and all things serious? Welcome to FART PARTY. This issue features inappropriate fake mustaches, terrible good news, environmental law school, coveted burritos, tears, laffs, and "hot dickings." Simultaneously troubling and heartwarming. Oh, and there's a scene where Julia cries at the post office when they only have those crappy American flag stamps--I can SO relate (and so will you.)" (Mircocosm Publishing)
Urban Forager: A guide to dumpster liberation and the freegan lifestyle"Surprisingly, we don't have another zine that focuses on this subject. Lots of people will go dumpster dive (and train hop) without appropriate information. Mostly you are lucky, but if you aren't smart you could get sick or arrested! This zine tells you how to go about getting food, what kind of food to look for, what to do with it (recipes! canning! trade!) and the typical shelf life of specific items. A sweet, easily navigatable zine, perfect for the fledgling punk rocker or anarchist!" (Mircocosm Publishing)
Rad Dad #6 edited by Tom Moniz"Rad Dad is a zine by and for rad(ical) dad(ical)s! This issue is mostly essays but also contains excerpts from radical parenting message boards, and some neat contacts and resources. Several of the stories focus on anger and how it's often transfered through generations, with particular attention paid to the tumultuous transition into adolescence. There's also a discussion on toddler aggression, and parenting with political consciousness. Okay, enough with the vocabulary words, basically, this zine is great! And it says in the back they're accepting submissions for #7, so rad dads, get in touch!" (Microcosm Publishing)
Tenacious #11: Writings from Women in Prison"A very touching account of various mothers' struggles from inside Prison. All are intensely emotional and touching. There is a devastating article about a woman who is told that she is HIV positive while in prison and the way that she is treated by her peers, an article about beginning the preparation for release from prison, sanitation problems in prison, and an incident of losing privileges because a guard was stuck with a needle during a search, a woman dying of blood loss in a Texas prison, and many more." (Microcosm Publishing)
Zineworld #25, reviewed by Kylie"Although this is primarily a zine review zine there are also letters to the editor which kept me entertained for an hour, reading about people who weren't happy with the review they received and replies from the reviewer. There is also a news page which is mostly about injustices in America and the postal system. It has a really interesting interview with the co-founders of microcosm publishing who were married and then divorced. A lot of zinesters are interested in this split and all the answers are here. As for the zine reviews, they are great to read and some of the reviews make you want to send off for the zine there and then. They also supply prices and addresses so you can buy strait from the zine maker. A must read!"
I was a Teenage Mormon by Caitlin, reviewed by Kylie"I really enjoyed this look at what it is like inside the Mormon religion. Caitlin talks honestly about growing up as a Mormon, she details her youth inside and outside of the Mormon church and about the questions and doubts she struggled with. The most interesting part for me was her final struggle to leave the church and the repercussions she had to deal with because of that choice."
Put Your Ear to the Floorboards by Nick Wortham, reviewed by Carmel"This is a full colour (very unusual for a zine!) collection of photographs taken by Nick Wortham, who seems to have an eye for unusual compositions, making the fairly banal quite beautiful and interesting. Included are graffiti shots, a girl's orange stockinged legs and feather skirt, and a close up of what looks like a pile of 70s couch cushions. The colours are rich, the angles are often humorous, and all in all this is a lovely collection of contemporary film photography."
Power Machine: a Lengthy Discourse on the Nature of Squatting by Hannah Potassium, reviewed by Kylie"I loved this zine! It talks about a life I will never lead (so of course I love reading about it), squatting. Hannah talks about squatting and what it means to her, she chronicles the squat that she set up called power machine and the people who subsequently lived there and eventually led to the squat's downfall. There are also some very interesting thoughts about the uses and misuses of the word 'community' and some discussion around woman only spaces".
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)
Zinefest was a huge success!
We were really proud to be part of it and it was great to have the opportunity to show off our new zine collection. It was also really awesome to meet and talk to all of you that came to visit us at the library stall. A big thank you to everyone who came and contributed to making it such a great day.
Below are some pics (click for a larger view), more of which can be viewed on the Zinefest myspace page
Photographs by Rosa-may Rutherford
Contact us
As the zine collection is new and growing fast we would love your feedback, ideas on zines to buy, and any questions you have about the collection. Please contact one of us: Kylie Buck, Stephanie Poulopoulos or Carmel Rowden.
