It is lovely to think back and remember the moment the spark was ignited for growing a collection back in 2017. At the time Fawkirk-Born ‘n’ Embra based Artist Lewis Bissett was hosting a SHITE zine workshop for our HND Contemporary Art Practice students as part of his AIRetc.. residency at Edinburgh College, and the SHITE zine workshop was being held in the library.

Lewis uses the following anagram to describe his practice:

S ymbolism
H istory
I nstitutions
T he Scottish language…
E mphasis on the small detail and
S chool boy humour

At around the same time I was beginning to research both zines and artists’ books as part of my own art practice, and had been thinking about how exciting it could be to bring both of these intimate, tactile, creative and radical forms of expression to the students.

I already knew a little about artists’ books, and learning about zines and zine culture had me very excited (I now know this discovery was a point of ‘no turning back’ that will resonate with many zine readers, makers, librarians, and book artists alike!)

I sat in on a workshop Lewis arranged with Gloria Oyster/CRISPS, a cartoonist and illustrator from Leeds and based in Edinburgh, and watched the students make SHITE zines over the week the workshops ran.

The week ended with an event where students shared their SHITE zines, drank fizzy pop, and ate crisp butties. It was wonderful, and a real coming together of ideas and joy around making and sharing zines. After the event the students, and Lewis, each donated a copy of the zines they had made during the week of workshops, and the idea of the collection became a reality.

I spent the time I could over 2018 and early 2019 listening to others who were involved in holding zine and artists’ books in various collections across Scotland, both in and out of education, including the fantastic Leigh of Edinburgh Zine Library, Glasgow Zine Library, Jane of Edinburgh College of Art & their Artists’ Book Collection, Bronwen at Edinburgh Art & Design library, Kerry from The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, and the collection of artists’ books (abcD) at DJCAD. I attended Zine fests and artists’ book fairs, joined mailing lists, read books, bought and read zines, and did a lot of learning, and mistake making (maybe more on this to follow?).

I became a member of the UK and Ireland Zine Librarians network, reaching out to the wonderful librarians who have been part of the zine community for many years, and in 2020 attended the The Zine Librarians unConference (a.k.a. ZLuC) listening and join in with many of the ‘challenging and joyous conversations’ (ZLuC 2022) around the ethics of zine librarianship.

Alongside this, meeting makers at workshops and zine & artists’ book fairs has been a huge pleasure and invaluable to my appreciation, understanding, and inevitable involvement in these communities (shout out to Susie Wilson! All who know her will appreciate her, her practice and her teaching).

The growth of the collection over 2018 & 2019 was slow and steady, but the aims of the collection were now clear, helping to drive things going forward.

• Engagement: To nurture an awareness of, and an interest in, the medium of zines, artists’ books and DIY publishing practices, and to make them easily accessible to all.
• Support: To invest in and support the work of current and alumni students and recent graduates, by holding a record of, and making accessible, their work in the collection.
• Connection: To nurture and support communities inside and outside the college, including individuals, organisations and groups, fostering mutually supportive relationships, collaborations, and conversations around artists books, zines and education.
• Amplification: To prioritise the inclusion and amplification of work by, and for, people who are marginalised, underrepresented, and discriminated against.

Initially, tentative attempts at engaging curriculum resulted in great interest and excitement. By the end of 2019 I was building an online catalogue and putting in place more structured processes and procedures, and there had been so many talks delivered and classes engaging with the zines and artists’ books that a wonderful array of students were now making creative publications as part of their work.