ABC No Rio Zine Library
ABC No Rio's zine library is one of New York City's largest zine archives with a collection of over 13,000 zines with a further 3000 currently being processed. Our community archive is a collectively organized, volunteer-led group of zine makers, librarians, archivists, and zine aficionados who are enthusiastic about archiving zine history and making zines and zine culture accessible to the public.
Zines are crucial as alternative sources of information, offering a platform for diverse voices and ideas. They not only inspire new generations of creators but also serve as a vital resource for contemporary social movements to trace the lineage and evolution of their causes and communities. Preserving zines ensures that these voices and stories remain accessible for future generations. ABC No Rio, deeply embedded in New York City's underground and countercultural movements, mirrors this evolution. Just as zines have grown out of these spaces, so too has ABC No Rio, continually evolving alongside the cultural and political shifts that shape these movements.
The ABC No Rio zine library, rooted in underground and countercultural movements, began in 1998 when it rescued the Blackout Zine Library from a squat in South Bronx which was to be evicted. Since then, we have cultivated a collection policy that focuses on independent, underground, and alternative publications covering activism, music, politics, culture, personal experience, health and travel, with a special emphasis on political and social issues, as well as marginalized voices. We are known for having one of New York's largest anarchist and punk/hardcore zine collections and large feminist and LGBTQ archives.
Our community archive focuses on the following:
1) Zines rooted in countercultures, subcultures, DIY communities, political scenes, and social movements - individually or collectively produced - exploring how aesthetics, lifestyles, and movements are tied to subcultural belonging.
2) Zines that directly address social relations and explore how individual experiences are born out of asymmetrical social conditions such as gender, race, class, and sexuality.
3) Zines offering DIY advice on topics such as parenting, education, health, dating, and peer support.
4) Zines that emerge from, or cover, New York's cultural underground scenes, especially the Lower East Side and downtown Manhattan, highlighting the area's creative legacy in art, performance, poetry, politics, and documenting movements often overlooked by mainstream history.
Zine Library Hours:
Mondays: 6:00 - 9:00pm
Tuesdays: 4:00 - 7:00pm
Wednesdays: 12:00- 3:00pm and 5:00 to 7:30pm
Thursdays: 12:00 to 3:00pm and 4:00 to 7:00pm
Sundays: 12:00 to 3:00pm
Address:
Room 305 Clemente Soto Velez Centre
107 Suffolk Street
NY, NY, 10002
In advance of the completion of our new facility, the ABC No Rio Zine Library is temporarily relocated in room 305 in the Clemente Soto Velez center. For more info about our new building at http://www.abcnorio.org/newbuilding.php
For individuals pursuing research, student groups, or groups of three or more, please schedule your visit in advance at zine [at] abcnorio.org.
We are grateful to the Clemente for the support they are providing during our "in-exile" period.
https://www.theclementecenter.org/
