A growing number of University of Texas faculty are turning to zines – self-published, often handmade works of art and expression – as a powerful tool for learning, collaboration, and research. Once viewed primarily as underground artifacts of DIY culture, zines have become a bridge between creative expression and academic inquiry, and the Libraries are helping to broaden their application in study and research.
Zines aren’t a new phenomenon – these self-published, staple-bound booklets emerged in the 1930s as fan-productions (fanzines) and, in the 1960s and 70s, evolved into self-published outlets for activism, punk rock, feminism, and subcultural voices. In the last 20 years, libraries started collecting these ephemeral publications, finding them valuable to researchers and students.
Most of the zine collections are housed in the Fine Arts Library, the UT Poetry Center at the Perry-Castañeda Library and the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. Librarians at the Fine Arts Library identified zines as a strategic acquisition area in 2012 because of their crossover appeal in fine arts and communications study. This effort aligned with the existing materials from the Latin American and poetry collections, but librarians collected those earlier zines as a matter of course rather than as a deliberate strategy. Zines are attractive as a collection development prospect – they are a generally a low-cost resource, often produced in limited runs and they exist in a variety of forms. And due to their low barrier to entry and DIY ethos, they have currency with a global audience of creators.
“Although many of the students we teach are unfamiliar with zines at first, they immediately gravitate towards this medium because of the collection’s creative and original content,” says Tina Tran, Liaison Librarian for Visual Arts. “With their daily lives becoming increasingly digital, these students find it refreshing to explore accessible, physical media that’s uninfluenced by algorithms and ads.”
Over the past few years, interest in the zine format has surged on campus. The Libraries’ zine holdings have inspired 46 workshops (and counting) during a relatively short amount of time, spanning 14 distinct course types across three colleges. The format’s accessibility, activism roots and personal voice make it a compelling vehicle for students to explore ideas and identities.
The workshops helped to introduce students to the history and practice of zine-making, rooted in movements for social change and self-empowerment, while also emphasizing their value as primary source materials for research. Sessions are tailored to individual courses and typically include an overview of zine culture, a hands-on tour of the collection and a collage-based creative activity that encourages students to engage directly with the medium.
These workshops not only teach students how to make zines but also how to analyze them – connecting artistic practice with academic rigor. Faculty have incorporated zines and zine-making as an alternative to traditional written assignments, encouraging group projects that blend scholarship and creativity. Use of the collection has increased in recent years, with roughly a quarter of all 800 cataloged zines being used in 2022 and 2024. Additionally, eight students have curated exhibits featuring zines since 2014, illustrating how the exposure to the collection is fueling independent scholarship.
“Professors are incorporating zines in the classroom, often as a creative assignment and alternative to the traditional research paper,” says Humanities Liaison Librarian Gina Baston. “Zines are a flexible medium – students can include writing with their own drawings or collaged images made from old magazines, and they are great for group projects, too.”
The Libraries’ zine collection features hundreds of titles covering topics as varied as individual identity, mental health, music, art, environmental justice and cultural heritage. Each zine provides a unique snapshot of lived experience, community knowledge or political activism – making the collection an invaluable resource for both creators and researchers.
The zine initiative also underscores the Libraries’ commitment to practical learning and research, creating a welcoming entry point into library spaces and collections. For many students, it’s their first introduction to archives, primary research or self-publishing – an experience that often sparks new creative or academic pursuits.
“While some students embrace the creative possibilities that come with zine-making, others are intimated. Many have never heard of zines, or they don’t consider themselves artistically talented,” says Bastone.
“It’s a remarkable moment to see a reluctant student find their creative spark after looking through our zine collection.”
The medium’s historic roots in empowerment and self-expression remain potent today.
Learn more about the Libraries’ Zine Collections at the LibGuide: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/zines