Guides: Zine Making at WPI: Digital Zine Archives

Digital Zine Archives & Libraries

These digital zine archives and libraries contain digitized zines created by more than one zine creator or distro (zine distributor). They are listed alphabetically and represent only a small sampling of zine libraries and archives available.

Barnard Zine Library
The Barnard Zine Library has some zines available for digital access. Their site contains educational resources about zines, a directory of zine libraries, and more.
DC Punk Archive Zine Library
Hosted by the DC Public Library, the DC Punk Archive Zine Library is a virtual collection of zines gathered from the archival collections of individual DC Punk Archive donors. Many of the zines are about (and often by members of) the DC music scene and included interviews, concert reviews, record reviews, and photos of DC punk artists. However, many also include other cultural content, including national and international music coverage, arts and literature, personal essays and narratives, cartoons, political commentary, satire, and more. The zines date from the mid-1970s to the present, though the majority are from the 1980s. The zines are arranged in alphabetical order.
Digital Zine Collection at the University of Miami Special Collections
The zine collection at the University of Miami Special Collections contains over 5000 items, and seeks to give researchers and anyone interested in getting to know more about them an overview of the "who, what, when, where, why" of the zine world. The holdings place an emphasis on South Florida publications. There are also many examples of national and international zines on a variety of topics, from “perzines” (personal zines, very much like journals or diaries) to LGBTQ issues, dumpster diving, fashion, photography, found art, collecting, food, music, science fiction, science, literature, poetry, and much more.
Indigenous Zineopedia 1.0
A collection of printable Indigenous zines for distribution hosted by Indigenous Action (IA/originally Indigenous Action Media). Indigenous Action was founded on August 25th, 2001 to provide strategic communications and direct action support for Indigenous community’s sacred lands defense.
Jewish Zine Archive
Jewish Zine Archive is an ongoing archival project for zines created by Jewish artists & writers. The archive is based out of Tuscon, AZ.
Library of Congress Zine Web Archive
The Library of Congress has a growing collection of zines. The Zine Web Archive was created to supplement the physical zine collection. In general, zines are: self-published, self-created, self-distributed, and non-commercial. The independent nature of these publications allows for an unprecedented freedom of expression, and as such, these materials are incredibly valuable primary source materials. Collection priorities include zines by people of color, women, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ and transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and organizations. Subjects and perspectives which have been traditionally underrepresented in mainstream media (and therefore libraries) are also a high priority for collection.
Papercut Zine Library
Papercut Zine Library is a free, volunteer-run browsing library with a collection of 16,000+ zines & independent media. The library was founded in 2005 and has a physical location in Cambridge, MA, in addition to its digital library.
POC Zine Project
POC Zine Project's mission is to makes zines by POC (People of Color) easy to find, distribute and share. They are an experiment in activism and community through materiality.
Quarantine Public Library
Quarantine Public Library is a repository of books made by artists. The works published here are for anyone to freely download, print and assemble—to keep or give away. The project was created by Katie Garth and Tracy Honn.
Queer Zine Archive Project
The Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) was first launched in November 2003 in an effort to preserve queer zines and make them available to other queers, researchers, historians, punks, and anyone else who has an interest DIY publishing and underground queer communities.

Zines Available to Browse Online

These zines share a creator, editor, or distributor and are available to view digitally. They are listed alphabetically and are only a small sampling of zines available.

indige•zine
A zine dedicated to indigenous art, culture, and resistance
Migrant Zine Collective
Migrant Zine Collective is an activist-based zine collective aiming to amplify, celebrate and share the voices of migrants of colour in Aotearoa (New Zealand).
Muchacha Fanzine
A Native Xicana Feminist fanzine founded and edited by Daisy Salinas.
Project Nia
Shotgun Seamstress
Shotgun Seamstress started in 2006 and was made by Osa Atoe. The zine came out of the experience of being the only black kid at the punk show. The first six issues can be viewed online via the link.
The Small Science Collective
A collaboration of artists, students, scientists and anyone else who is seriously curious about the sciences, the Small Science Collective produces small zines and web comics on topics from ants to galaxies.
Trans Lash Zine
Since 2019, TransLash Zine has been an independent publication by TransLash Media that supports their mission of telling trans stories to save trans lives. They feature uncensored art, writing, and photography by trans/non-binary/intersex/two-spirit/gender non-conforming people, and they pay contributors.

More Places to Look for Zines

Additional places to look for zines:

Many of the linked archives and libraries have a social media presence on Twitter or Instagram where they share other zines.
Search for "Zine Fests" in your area. Zine Fests bring together zine makers, vendors, and artists to celebrate, exchange, and sell zines. Some Zine Fests have pivoted to virtual during the pandemic, which means they're accessible regardless of your geographic location.
Search Etsy.com for zines available for purchase. Zine makers may also share their social media handles or websites with free zines or zine previews.
Issuu.com supports many digital and digitized zines.