Pile of matchmaking quiz zines I made in 2023 for Smith College Special Collections using Canva.
NOTE: This project was conducted as part of the CIS 668 (Social Justice and Inclusion Advocacy) class during fall 2023. This analysis and event planning in collaboration with Magik Press of New London, CT focuses on working class artists and zinesters. For more information, please explore the menu. On this page, I present readings and online resources that show current questions and solutions for the themes touched in this project.
Readings
Sou, G., & Hall, S. M. (2023). Comics and Zines for Creative Research Impact: Ethics, Politics and Praxis in Geographical Research. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies / ACME : Revue Internationale de Géographie Critique / ACME: Revista Internacional de Geografía Crítica, 22(1), 817–841. https://doi.org/10.7202/1098037ar
I chose this article to hone in on the use of zines to highlight a geographical location as “critical human geography” praxis. As this project revolves around critique of local art offerings in New London and the small state of Connecticut, it brings a need to look at not just systems but space and place from creative perspectives. By moving away from “damage centered” displays of marginalized communities and towards a centering of desire, there is a focus on the power they still have. This is vital in community organizing, especially across a small state. In the case of my project, zines are a part of research impact for Aly’s pedagogy, which does not rely on research in the traditional academic sense at all times, but does draw from it. The authors point out how the dynamic between researcher and artist as well as between researcher and subject each as experts in their own right brings unique participatory research opportunities often lost through traditional papers. This also makes anonymization of research data more relatable to participants who see the creation of a character inspired by them, but not identifying as them directly.
Throsby, D. (2007). Preferred work patterns of creative artists. Journal of Economics and Finance, 31(3), 395–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02885729
Acknowledging that art work and support can range from direct art work to art-adjacent to non-creative, this article explores the many ways artists in Australia divide their work hours for creative pursuits, noting how this differs from the traditional model of labor supply and its assumed distinctions between work and leisure. Most data about the aspects of creative entrepreneurship I’ve found throughout this project came from Australian studies, so I am considering the overlap with American practices and culture, aware that not everything may be applicable and wealth is not accounted for separate from income. They consult a 2001 survey, similar to the more recent Australian infographics consulted in my Information Action Briefs. As this is written as economics literature, the author proposes a function to measure the proportion of how much survey respondents’ work time in the arts fell short of their preferred time. Implications of their findings show important parts of working life for an artist: possible overlap with other professions (many of which could be the other jobs an artist is balancing) and accounting for the significant loss of creative output under average circumstances and the lack of public policy to curb it.
Resources
Zine Librarians Interest Group
Zinelibraries.info is the online home of the Zine Librarians Interest Group, which also has an email listserv. Established in 2007, No credentials are required to join, simply interest in the preservation and sharing of zines. The website includes a blog, information about the Zine Union Catalog (ZineCat), a Zine Librarians Code of Ethics, contacts for zine librarian speakers, and resources for everything from collection development policies and sourcing zines to cataloging and teaching. The website also has information for events, including the unconferences held by the group, and Zine Pavilion at the American Library Association conference. While many people have institutional affiliation, there is a maintained openness and commitment to low cost barriers. The website notes a collaborative process to update the code of ethics as of November 2022. The unconference raises funds to give scholarships to zine librarians of color who want to attend in person, though at least part of the conference has been online since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. They have an online toolkit and encourage people to host in their city. People of color are also prioritized for the list of speakers, though everyone listed is an individual with their own rates. The Preamble of the code of ethics mentions that zine librarians and archivists are often also part of the community of those who make and read zines and asserts a lack of neutrality in libraries/archives. Seeking permissions for zine usage is emphasized. This is reassuring for many small creators who want due credit, especially when zines often do not create profit.
Queer Zine Archive Project, https://gittings.qzap.org/
Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) started in 2003 as Milwaukee, WI based Chris Wilde and Milo Miller combined their personal zine collections and created a community zine archive that has since become a digitization project to maintain a free database. Their mission statement on the website states: "The mission of the Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) is to establish a ‘living history’ archive of past and present queer zines and to encourage current and emerging zine publishers to continue to create. In curating such a unique aspect of culture, we value a collectivist approach that respects the diversity of experiences that fall under the heading ‘queer.’” Besides their own website, some items are available to view online via the Digital Transgender Archive. Their database uses the xZINECOREx metadata standard, which they describe as similar to DublinCore. Milo’s informational zine about this opens by noting that Miller is not a librarian by training and that the audience is not expected to be one, either. This is helpful as someone with a zine library, whether it is led by a queer person or includes queer material, might want to explore description and other online presentations of material for those who cannot visit in person or want an idea of holdings beforehand.