Illustration: Artists' Books and Zines

There are over 500 artists' books and zines that have been self-published or from small press publishers in the Library, see the Special Collections page for more information on this collection, and how to access it. 

The Library also has lots of books on the history of zines and alternative press, as well as how to create zines. Search below, or click here to see a selection.

Zines (pronounced 'zeen', short for magazine) are usually self-published, noncommercial, nonprofessional, non-profit, limited edition works that are often distributed by the creators themselves. They often have a DIY aesthetic, with a folded or stapled and photocopied appearance. Zines are often produced by persons of marginalized groups or created to highlight certain social issues, and represent a diverse range of ideas, experiences, interests, and personal histories.

The Artists' Books Collection can be found in the brightly coloured filing cabinets on the ground floor of the Library.

Click here to see the full collection in the Library Catalogue

Alternatively, use the search box below to find individual titles/artists.

QZAP - Queer Zine Archive Project
Aims to preserve queer zines and make them available to researchers, historians, punks, and anyone else who has an interest DIY publishing. Hundreds of fully digitised zines. 

POC Zine Project
Makes zines by POC (People of Color) easy to find, distribute and share.

Independent Voices
An open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, from 1950 to the present day

Small Science Collective
A collaboration of scientists and artists, this project produces small downloadable zines and web comics on a variety of topics .

Zines on issuu
Although originally a print-only medium, zine publishers have started using issuu to distribute their work digitally.

Guidelines for referencing zines or artists' books in the Library's collection or from online resources can be accessed here.