Whitworth Library's Zine Collection: About Our Collection

We welcome donations to the Zine collection! 

If you have a small or large zine collection, or a couple of issues of a zine you wrote, we'd love to add them to our holdings. We collect all kinds of zines, but we're especially interested in zines from PNW authors and artists, zines that focus on spirituality or social justice topics, and zines by marginalized or underrepresented folks.

Although we ask for donations, the Library cannot guarantee that all donated zines will make it into the collection. The addition or removal of zines is made at the discretion of library staff and the evaluation of donations is held to the same standards for inclusion as purchased items, relying upon professional expertise and the assessment of the needs of our community in collaboration with other departments.

While all zine donations will be considered, the Library observes the right to accept or reject zine donations in accordance with our collection development needs. 

If you are interested in donating to the Zine collection, please email sduval@whitworth.edu with a description and photos of the item(s) you wish to donate. 

A selection from the Whitworth Library's Zine Collection. Photo by zine librarian Sophia Du Val.

The Whitworth Library Zine Collection is a recent addition to the library's collection. Officially introduced in the summer of 2021, the Zine Collection began as a donation of zines from the Salt Lake City Public Library in Utah. The Zine Collection currently contains over 200 zines on a breadth of topics including LGBTQ+ issues, gardening, feminism, mental health, history, life skills topics, and more. The collection will continue to grow through both donations and purchases made every semester. Our purchased zines are sourced directly from zine makers whenever possible, but we also acquire zines via independent presses and small booksellers. 

In their sharing of experiences, offerings of advice, or simply in their retelling of stories, zines allow for a very personal transmission of information from one individual to another. Often, the voices represented in zines are marginalized or disenfranchised, and zines act as a conduit through which diverse voices are documented and disseminated. Zines are vital transmitters of these histories and identities, and as pieces of alternative literature they are growing collections in many academic and public libraries. Zines are not only valuable for their artistry and creative expression, but because of their worth as primary source documents of lived, personal, and contemporary experiences. The Zine Collection at Whitworth University is envisioned to be both engaging and instructive, highlighting and sharing a diversity of perspectives on a variety of topics for students to identify with, reflect upon, and learn from.  

We hope you enjoy the collection! 

Research questions about zines and related topics can be directed to librarian Sophia Du Val via the email link in her profile box on the right.

Special thanks to the University of Puget Sound for help creating this guide.

Zines are located at the Reference desk on the first floor. Need help? A library staff member will gladly assist you.

Whitworth's Zine Collection does not circulate - meaning that zines cannot be checked out of the library. However, we invite you to come interact with the zines in person.

Library Hours