Papercut Zine Library

Posted February 9, 2014 by Gemma Doyle

The Papercut Zine Library takes up the back corner of Lorem Ipsum Books in Inman Square, Cambridge.

Zines have been around since the rise of punk subculture in the ’70s, and continue to thrive as small handwritten or typed booklets today.  There are zines on every topic imaginable, and thousands of new ones produced every year.  I’ve always loved the personal stories found in most zines, and the time and energy put into making them tends to mean more to me than simply reading a blog entry on the same subject.

The Papercut Zine Library is home to more than 15,000 zines, with new arrivals constantly being added to the collection.  A year’s membership costs just $12, and unlimited zines are lent out for 4 weeks. 

Better yet, at least for me, they are always looking for volunteers to help out with cataloging the zines and running the zine library, and that was what really interested me.  I still haven’t taken a cataloging class, but what better way to navigate the tricky cataloging rules than to learn by doing?

When I worked at the public library in Vancouver, BC, they had just started a zine collection and were still in the midst of figuring out how best to explain the collection, and zines in general, to the library’s patrons.  They now have almost 1,000 zines in their collection in a variety of topics, so it’s pretty clear that the collection has been a big success!

Papercut, while the largest public zine library in the Boston area, isn’t the only one.  Leslie University’s Sherrill Library also has a zine collection that the public may browse (though only Leslie students can borrow), and the Framingham Public Library has a small collection of YA zines. 

The Papercut Zine Library

@Lorem Ipsum Books,

1299 Cambridge St.

Cambridge MA