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1. INTRODUCTION

Since 2008 the Christchurch-based anARCHIVE has been collecting objects relating to the New

Zealand anarchist movement—posters, flyers, zines, publications, moving images and other printed

matter (such as research notes). Part archive, part library; anARCHIVE views itself and its collections

as ‘living history’ and aims to explore the relationship between cultural production and social

transformation. Access and use are core components of anARCHIVE’s mission, as is existing outside

of state institutions. It is primarily run by volunteers.

By far the largest and most used collection at anARCHIVE is its zine library. There are over 400

of these “do-it-yourself (DIY) magazines, independently produced and published for love rather than

profit” (Gisonny & Freedman, 2005, p.26), primarily relating to anarchism and political topics.

However they are currently not catalogued, only accessed by those at the physical archive and unknown

to many outside users.

In order to meet anARCHIVE’s mandate of a ‘living’ archive, this report proposes the design of an

online information retrieval system (IRS) to both formalize and catalogue the zine collection, and to

promote increased access and use. It will cover the problematic nature of zines, benchmark existing

collections, and describe a possible IRS—complete with metadata and access structures.

2. THE PROBLEM OF ZINES

Zines’ inherent qualities make them difficult to catalogue. They come in many different formats,

shapes and sizes, are often irregularly published by individuals, and offer little or no bibliographic

information: “often they are without surname, date or place of publication, and pagination” (Gisonny

& Freedman, p.28). ISSN numbers are non-existent. Therefore traditional cataloging rules can be

problematic. Are zines serials or monographs? Should one use Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC)

and Library of Congress (LC) Subject Headings, or create custom vocabulary?

Such issues are prevalent in anARCHIVE’s collection: there are odd sized publications and many

lack publication details. Another issue relates to editions: many of the zines are anti-copyright and can

be reproduced freely, resulting in various editions of the same text by different publishers. However

this also provides opportunities as many zines are digitalized and available online.

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3. POSSIBLE MODELS

In the last decade zine collections have become a feature of public and community libraries, each with

their own IRS, cataloguing techniques and surrogate structures. The following examples are helpful

models for anARCHIVE, and range from integration into Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second

Edition (AARC2) and MARC, to customized cataloguing.

3.1. BERNARD ZINE LIBRARY

The New York Bernard Zine Library is integrated into the parent University’s OPAC system,

Columbia Libraries Online Catalogue, and uses AARC2/MARC vocabulary. LC Subject Headings

and terms are used, but with the addition of 15 custom ‘genres’ such as ‘Personal Zines’ or

‘Mamazines’ (http://zines.barnard.edu/about/genres). The IRS and its search and browsing functions are

typical of university and public library systems.

Bernard Zine Library: http://zines.barnard.edu

Anchor Archive Zine Library: http://www.robertsstreet.org/zine-library

Salt Lake City Public Library Alternative Press: http://altpress.slcpl.org/

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• Pros: universal vocabulary/interoperability, MARC coding, comprehensive metadata,

extensive search capabilities.

• Cons: assigning LC subject headings and terms can be time consuming for volunteers, could

lack suitable LC subject headings, MARC may not suit a small, stand-alone collection.

3.2. ANCHOR ARCHIVE ZINE LIBRARY

Anchor Archive Zine Library (AAZL) is part of the Roberts Street Social Centre in Halifax, Canada,

and is independent from state institutions. It has developed its own controlled vocabulary to match the

nature, diversity and arrangement of zines, including 51 main subject categories or ‘boxes’

(http://www.robertsstreet.org/boxes), sub-headings and tags. Its record structure contains descriptive

and contextual metadata, while the IRS has numerous search and browse capabilities.

• Pros: customized and specific vocabulary (with thesaurus), comprehensive coverage, used by

other anarchist collections, good browsing function, Web 2.0 capabilities (tagging).

• Cons: vocabulary may not cover New Zealand (such as ‘Maori’ or ‘Tino Rangitiratanga’),

vocabulary is not universally used, limited information on provenance.

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3.3. SALT LAKE CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Salt Lake City Public Library zine collection, ‘Alternative Press’, employs a less comprehensive

but friendlier-to-the-cataloguer record structure, with customized metadata and vocabulary. Subject

terms are a list of tags (which the user can browse or add to), and each record includes an image and

abstract. The IRS has a simple search bar and allows alphabetical browsing.

• Pros: less-time consuming to catalogue, images, Web 2.0 capabilities (tagging).

• Cons: limited record metadata, open or loose vocabulary (subject tags) could cause double-ups

and unnecessary browsing time, limited search and browsing capabilities.

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4. PROPOSED IRS

anARCHIVE Zine Collection (IRS): http://anarchive.wikispaces.com/

Having surveyed the existing models and other metadata standards (such as Dublin Core which,

although comprehensive, may be too difficult for an archive with a high turnover of volunteers), this

report proposes the anARCHIVE zine collection use a customized online IRS similar to the AAZL.

4.1. CONTROLLED VOCABULARY

In order to “reconcile all the various possible words that can be used to express a concept and to

differentiate among all the possible meanings that can be attached to certain words” (Taylor, 2004,

p.261), the proposed IRS will use controlled vocabulary developed and tested by AAZL. This is

especially crucial for zines, which are subjective, cross-genre and use counter-cultural or oppositional

vocabulary not covered in LC Subject Headings. An added advantage of the AAZL vocabulary is its

autonomy from that used by state institutions; it is used by other anarchist collections; and is

relatively simple.

• Topic: A single zine can often cover a myriad of topics, making cataloguing difficult. To

match their unique content and physical arrangement, and to facilitate retrieval, zines will be

categorized into one of the AAZL ‘Box Categories’ (although anARCHIVE will use the term

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Topic). AAZL provides an extensive list of around 50 topics, including instructions on how

to assign a topic (http://www.robertsstreet.org/boxes). This system is friendlier to both user

and archivist, and more relevant to zines than LC subject headings. These categories have

been developed through years of experience with zines and cover all possibilities. Examples:

ANR Anarchism, FEM Feminism, ENV Environment and Nature.

• Subject terms: AAZL also provides a comprehensive list of subject terms, which covers a

zine’s sub-themes, and aids recall and precision by limiting the field to a specific set of terms

(http://www.robertsstreet.org/subjects). Localized terms could be added if needed. Examples:

alcohol, elections, rape culture, environmental education, Japanese history.

• Thesaurus: anARCHIVE will also use the AAZL Thesaurus to aid the user with subject

terms (http://www.robertsstreet.org/thesaurus/out.htm). This includes a list of the terms used

and their related substitutes (identified as broader, narrower or related), and directs the user to

the correct subject term to use.

4.2. RECORD STRUCTURE AND METADATA

Click here to view this example: http://anarchive.wikispaces.com/Don%27t+Vote%2C+Organise!

The customised record structure and its metadata are mainly descriptive, and draws from the AAZL

record structure. This is because it has enough coverage to work well with zines, and unlike MARC,

is simple enough for volunteers to use. However anARCHIVE incorporates some AARC2 standards at

the individual item level—such as a Notes field to indicate provenance, and sub-fields in the Physical

Description field. Edition and Download fields are unique to anARCHIVE.

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The metadata standard comprises of 11 fields:

• Title: title of the zine.

• Author: person, collective and/or publisher. Use ‘Anonymous’ for a zine without an

author, and ‘Various’ for a multi-authored zine with no clear author.

• Edition: signify which specific version is held (to resolve the issue of republished

versions). Note publisher and date.

• Geographic location: publishing location (not content coverage). Note city and

country.

• Physical description: tangible information about the zine’s physicality (an important

part of a zine’s quality and character). Note size, type of cover, internal printing, and

binding method.

• Pages: number of internal pages (exclude cover).

• Topic: central and overriding theme. Use one AAZL box category.

• Subject terms: key subjects addressed. Use up to 8 AAZL subject terms.

• Summary: short abstract describing the content. Note any distinctive features, graphics,

attached objects, and content pages (if applicable). Many abstracts already exist online and

can be copied or adapted (see http://zinewiki.com/).

• Notes: information about provenance. Note the donor and any relevant contextual

information. Hyperlink to donor page (if applicable).

• Download: hyperlink to digital version (if applicable).

Because the zines are located in one place and are anti-copyright, administrative metadata will be

provided on its own page and not at the item level (although Topic does match the physical

arrangement of the zine and indicates where the zine is held).

Tags are also listed for each record and can be added by the user, enhancing Web 2.0 technology

and adding a participatory element to the IRS. These will add coverage to the surrogate while

remaining separate to the assigned Subject terms, which follow the controlled vocabulary.

5. ACCESS: SEARCH AND BROWSING

To cover the needs and skill level of various users, anARCHIVE will employ search and browsing

retrieval tools, including search boxes, hyperlinks to parent categories and information on provenance,

and digital downloads. Because zines often lack bibliographic information, titles have been chosen as

the primary access point.

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5.1. SEARCH

The user will be able to use specific keyword searches of the entire collection thanks to the customized

search box on the homepage. Fields include Title, Author, Subject, Location, Year, and features a

dropdown box for the zine’s Topic. The Subject field will be type sensitive to draw on the controlled

vocabulary in use, aiding precision and recall.

5.2. BROWSING

Click here to view this example: http://anarchive.wikispaces.com/Browse+by+topic

Due to the loose, tactile and ephemeral nature of zines, it is suggested that the IRS uses extensive

browsing functions to capture the physical experience of looking through a zine collection, and to

encourage those with non-specific search terms. Users will be able to browse the entire collection by

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Title, Topic, Subject and Tags. Each page will be arranged alphabetically and will include a

hyperlinked menu to alphabetical anchors; while the Tags page will use an alphabetical tag cloud. For

example, the user will be able to browse all zines categorized under the topic of FEM Feminism via

the Topic page (which also includes information about the topic itself) or from a hyperlink at the item

level. In this way the user can view the complete range of zines, topic categories and subject terms at

anARCHIVE, and get a contextual sense of the collection.

Further information on the ‘About’ page—such as a description of the records structure, how the IRS

is arranged, how tagging works etc.—will aid the navigation and comprehension of the IRS, and in

turn, the retrieval of precise and relevant surrogates.

6. CONCLUSION

In order to promote and make available the zine collection of anARCHIVE, and to meet the needs of

its autonomist, volunteer-run qualities, this report proposes the development of an IRS suitable to its

uniqueness. Having benchmarked possible models that encompass a range of record structures and

retrieval methods, it is suggested to model anARCHIVE’s IRS on the AAZL—borrowing and adapting

its record structure, metadata, and controlled vocabulary. Keyword searching and browsing will be an

important factor in retrieval, as titles (and often topics) are the primary access points for users wishing

to access a medium notorious for its ephemeral, anonymous and rule-defying nature. By using an

anarchist-based model developed specifically for these issues, anARCHIVE can draw on anti-statist

examples while ensuring the surrogate records and their metadata are more relevant than standards

currently in use.

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REFERENCES

Cisonny, K., & Freedman, J. (2005). Zines in libraries: how, what and why? In Collection Building, 25(1),

pp.26-30.

Columbia University Libraries. (2012). Bernard Zine Library. Retrieved 29 May 2012 from

http://zines.barnard.edu/

Roberts Street Social Centre. (n.d). Anchor Archive Zine Library. Retrieved 1 June 2012 from

http://www.robertsstreet.org/zine-library

Salt Lake City Public Library. (2008). Alternative Press. Retrieved 2 June 2012 from

http://altpress.slcpl.org/

Taylor, A. G. (2004). The Organization of Information (2nd ed). Westport, Connecticut; London: Libraries

Unlimited.

ZineWiki. (2012). Welcome to ZineWIki. Retrieved 5 June 2012 from http://zinewiki.com/

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bartel, J. (2003). The Salt Lake City Public Library Zine Collection. In Public Libraries, 42(4), pp.232-238.

Freedman, J. (15 June 2006). Your Zine Tool: A DIY Collection. In Library Journal, pp.36-38.

Herrada, J. (Summer 1995). Zines in Libraries: A Culture Preserved. In Serials Review, pp.79-88.

Hubbard, C. (2005). DIY in the Stacks: A Study of Three Public Library Zine Collections. In Public Libraries,

44(6), pp.351-354.

Roberts Street Social Centre. (n.d). Zine Library Catalogue Final Report. Retrieved 2 June 2012 from:

http://www.robertsstreet.org/node/3071

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WORD COUNT:

1813 (not including references in text and headers)

JARED DAVIDSON