“Z” Is for Zine—Alycia Sellie

Alycia Sellie, University of Wisconsin–Madison

By Staff -- Library Journal, 3/15/2006

“Zines are immensely valuable as historical documents and as expressions of those who would otherwise remain voiceless,” says ­Alycia Sellie of her commitment to self-published, alternative materials.

Interested in materials “labeled 'pop culture' or 'fringe,' ” Sellie founded the Madison Zine Fest (www.madisonzinefest.org) in 2004. In collaboration with the Wisconsin Book Festival, the annual event doubled in size in 2005, attracting over 900 attendees and over 30 participants. Sellie has been awarded $2000 Wisconsin Humanities Council grants each year through UW-Madison's SLIS for Zine Fest.

Calling Zine Fest's impact “tremendous,” Sellie notes that each branch of the Madison Public Library has started a zine collection and that an SLIS colleague now offers a zine class at a local alternative high school. Zine Fest participants also submit two copies of their zine, one for the fest and one to be added to the Wisconsin Historical Society or local library collection; Sellie's library-themed zine collection will soon be added to the SLIS library.

As “an advocate for intellectual freedom,” Sellie says “every librarian should be concerned with the Patriot Act and other threats to the freedom of humans to learn and grow unhindered.” Her “zine pursuits” led her to Radical Reference (www.radicalreference.info), “a really great community of activist librarians.”

Sellie looks forward to a rich library career, saying she would “like to work with a special (ideally alternative) collection or in a library that collects unusual materials” but “would also be happy to do outreach or library events.”