Dear Readers,
I am pleased to announce the arrival of Multnomah County Library’s brand new zine collection! (What’s a zine, you ask? The short answer is: an independently produced publication. But there’s lots more to it than that; take a look at a bit of a long answer.)
Zines are on the shelf and ready for you to read and check out at Central, Hollywood, Midland, North Portland, Northwest, and Sellwood-Moreland libraries. The collection includes a myriad of fascinating zines on subjects such as women’s experiences in prison, vegan cooking, political theory, bicycling, fat activism, college radio, and more. The library also has fiction and short story zines, and zines relating personal experiences working as a camp counselor, being a modern mom, living with disease, and many other topics.
So, if you’re here in Portland you should stop by the library and take a look — whether you’ve never heard of zines or are an aficionado, I’m sure you’ll find something to pique your interest.
And, the library’s zine staff will be hosting a grand opening party on January 28, 2007, from 12-3 p.m. in the Periodicals room, on the second floor of Central Library. There will be donuts and hot beverages, so come eat, celebrate, and perhaps do a bit of reading too (and we can all try not to get the zines too sticky!).
Making stuff and doing things : a collection of DIY guides to just about everything / compiled and edited by Kyle Bravo, with major assistance from Jenny LeBlanc.
Portland, OR : Microcosm Pub., 2005.
[MCL does not have this book. I'm not really sure where it would be on the shelf if it were in the library's collection -- maybe somewhere in 001, Knowledge, or at 643.7, Renovation, improvement, remodeling (a subset of Home economics and family living, in the Technology section)?]
This is, just as the title indicates, a book chock full of instructions. How-tos are reprinted in facsimile from dozens of zines, including helpful illustrations and amusing side comments. The book is divided into topical sections covering activism, self-education, self-publishing, fun, arts & crafts, clothing, “creative troublemaking” (stencils, wheatpasting, and puppets), outdoorsy stuff, gardening, food & drink, travel, health & body, pet care, recycling, repairs, household stuff, and transportation. At the end is a section of pieces on the philosophy of DIY, a list of author contact information, and a very competent index.
Some of my favorites are: I made my own soymilk (p. 119), unstink your socks (p. 69), typewriter ribbons (p. 174), the DIY punk rock cat diet (p. 173), tips for staying fit on the road (p. 122), and how to do basic electrical wiring (p. 205).
