Much of our collection is built from donations and we’d be happy to consider yours. Here’s what to know about donating zines and minicomics:
What to consider before donating
- Consider privacy. When a zine is added to the catalog, details like the title and author name are public and easily searchable online. Zines often contain personal information intended for small audiences, so please be sure you want your zine made public before donating. All zines and minicomics circulate and anyone with an SLPL library card can borrow them. Zines and minicomics in our collection may be featured on slpl.org, LibGuides (like this one), and on SLPL social media.
- The ZMC is not an archive. For better or worse, your zine will get wear and tear. It will not live at SLPL forever. We follow the Deselection process as described in our Collection Development Policy.
Basic Criteria for ZMC Donations
- All items must be at least 3.5 x 3.5 inches. Smaller items cannot be accepted.
- Generally, items printed and/or bound by traditional commercial printers are not accepted.
- Generally, items with barcodes, ISBNs, and/or ISSNs are not accepted.
- Subject matter and construction technique are also factors. These needs can shift depending on what is in the collection at the time of donation.
Other details
- Not all donations are added to the catalog and SLPL Selectors have the final say about whether an item is added. If yours is not, we’ll add it to the “Take A Zine, Leave a Zine” box next to the collection. That way, it still has a chance to get out into the world.
- Processing donations is a lengthy process. It make take months before a donation appears in the catalog.
Questions? Email us at entlitbio@slpl.org.
If you are donating more than 15 items at one time, please contact us first!
