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ABC No Rio Zine Library

In advance of demolition and the construction of our new facility, the ABC No Rio Zine Library has temporarily relocated to the Clemente at 107 Suffolk Street, Room #305.

Our library is in a small space and capacity is limited. Please schedule your visit in advance at zine [at] abcnorio.org.

Zine Library Public Hours:
Mondays: 12:00pm to 3:00pm and 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Tuesdays: 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Wednesdays: 2:00pm to 5:00pm

Student groups and groups of three or more, and individuals pursuing research should also contact us at zine [at] abcnorio.org for appointments.

The ABC No Rio Zine Library contains over thirteen thousand items. Our collection includes independent, underground and alternative publications on subjects such as music, culture, politics, personal experience and travel. We have a special interest in zines addressing political and social issues.

This project began in the Spring of 1998 when we rescued the Blackout Zine Library from a squat in the South Bronx which was to be evicted. Since then numerous individuals have donated their personal collections, and zine editors and publishers regularly send us issues.

Our Zine Library focuses on the following:

1) Zines that emerge from, or cover, NYC's Lower East Side and downtown Manhattan. In particular, these zines highlight the creative practices for which the area is renowned (art, performance, fiction, poetry and politics) and serve as crucial documentation for events and movements that are largely left out of history.

2) Zines that are embedded in countercultures, subcultures, political scenes, DIY communities, and/or social movements. Some zines are individually made, but many are collectively produced. While some zines focus on a taste community (music) or lifestyle (veganism), we stress the ways those aesthetics and lifeways are grounded in subcultural belonging.

3) Zines that directly address social relations. Even when created individually, the personal expression explores how individual experiences are born out of asymmetrical social conditions (gender, race, class, sexuality).

4) Zines that engage in DIY practical advice-giving, covering such areas as parenting, education, health, dating, and peer support.

Zines are vital as alternative information sources. Zine collections inspire new generations of zine makers by demonstrating the sheer numbers and breadth of the types of zines possible. Zine collections allow actors in contemporary social movements to learn about the lineage of their communities. Zines need to be preserved as an archive of our activity for the historical record. ABC No Rio is a cultural space that has emerged from, and remains embedded in, New York City underground and countercultural movements. Like the zines themselves, ABC No Rio has evolved from within these movements.





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Donate to the Zine Library!!!

Your support will allow us to properly store,
maintain and care for the zines in our collection.


CONTACT US:
zine [at] abcnorio.org

We welcome zine library volunteers, both with
and without library training or experience.
Please reach out by email.




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ABC No Rio: The Culture of Opposition Since 1980