small neighbourhood library: zines to share

i've been intrigued by the concept of little free libraries aka little neighbourhood libraries aka leave books take books points for a while. luckily, after a move, i'm now near several little libraries! unluckily, they often go through periods of being empty of filled with material nobody seems interested in. so, i've started collecting, printing, and distributing zines to help.

i focus primarily on 1-page zines, as they are the cheapest to print in bulk. there are also zines of different formats (booklet, half-size, funky shape) that i have in my pocket in case of urgent need. all the zines below are at least teenager-friendly, if not kid-friendly, with the least amounts of swearwords i could manage and an absence of gore, violence, or graphic details. i included topics that some people would find "kid-unfriendly" or "contorversial", such as lgbtq+ rights, drug use, or mental health crises; i believe that these topics are important for everyone and you are welcome to pick and choose what you need from this list. i mostly focus on informational, diy, or otherwise interactive zines, as they can be appealing to a wide range of people. this is not to say that poetry, personal, or art zines are not interesting or important; i just lack the deciding muscle to pick the ones to share.

all of these zines should be available for free, some requiring email or "purchase" of a free item. all of these zines were made by artists, creators, and educators, so please pay or tip them if you are able to. their work is super important and very cool and i am very grateful to be in the same world as all the makers of the zines below. if a link is dead, please run it through the internet archive and also let me know.

1-letter-page/8-pages mini zines

other formats

zines that need extra formatting before printing

storage and shelving

  • i just. put all of the copies straight into the box as is, which created several problems: hard to display things in an inviting manner, hard to keep things organized, paper does get wet when its rainy outside. counterpoint: this still seems to work, even if imperfect.

  • be emotionally prepared that your storage solution might get lost or stolen: i've cobbled together a cardboard stand, wrapped in a shiny duck tape for waterproofing, and it disappeared pretty much immediately.

  • popular options seem to be: milk cartons, cereal cartons, binders, boxes, cardboard pallets, etc.

  • shelving options by the zine librarians interest group

  • storage box template for 8-page mini zine collection by Carolyn Swiszcz

  • Make a Zine Display/Rack by dretime

last updated: 02/07/2024