In January 2009 I co-presented this paper with John Stevens, librarian at the State Library of Victoria at RAILS (Research Applications in Information and Library Studies) in Sydney.
Abstract
This paper considers a unique subcultural form - the zine - and examines two Australian examples of zine collections, one informal collection at the Octapod, a community arts space in Newcastle, NSW, and another collection in the Rare Printed section of the State Library of Victoria. These two collections have emerged over the past decade as significant collections of zines in Australia. Both collections are also currently the subject of research projects being undertaken in library and information studies institutions in Australia; research which aims to add to the small but growing body of knowledge of the field from an Australian perspective.
The paper is a collaborative effort between Jessie Lymn, a recent graduate of the University of Technology, Sydney’s Master of Arts (Information & Knowledge Management) program, and John Stevens, Librarian at the State Library of Victoria with responsibility for the library’s zine collection.
Jessie’s Master’s project developed a preservation and access strategy for the Octapod zine collection, undertaking extensive research and analysis into current practice in zine collection, and comparing the activities of current zine collections world wide. The State Library of Victoria’s zine collection was one she examined, and John has further expanded on the collection in this paper to provide a case study comparison to the Newcastle collection.
