Who are we?

Glasgow Zine Library (GZL) is a community-based zine library and archive in Glasgow. Our library acts as a growing archive of self-published works, as well as running a year-long programme of events to celebrate the ethos of Do It Yourself (DIY) culture, increase literacy and fight isolation. Our workshops, talks, screenings, and social gatherings encourage people to read, make, do, and share.

As well as our year-round programming, we also run Glasgow Zine Fest (GZF), which has been an annual staple of Glasgow’s cultural landscape since its inception in 2013. GZF is an energetic and accessible way for artists, academics, and the public alike to come together, learn something new and share ideas. A two-day zine fair allows makers to share, sell and trade their work; lectures encourage discussion and ideas; workshops give an opportunity to learn a new skill or improve an old one.

To find out more about who we are and what we programme, visit glasgowzinelibrary.com

A+E Collective's reading group, Biosystems, photo credit: Ben Soedira

Who do we reach?

Glasgow is a multicultural, politically engaged and socially active city, and we at Glasgow Zine Library reflect this as a disabled, LGBTQ+, BAME and woman-led team whose programming celebrates, discusses and challenges the status quo through the subculture of zine-making. We pride ourselves on being inclusive, engaging and open to all. Our team is constantly looking for new ways to facilitate, educate and entertain through our diverse programme which is made up of creatives, makers and speakers who are predominantly women, queer, trans, disabled and BAME. GZF welcomes over 2,000 people from the UK and internationally every year, and in the five months GZL had a physical space to call home, we engaged with 1844 people through our collections, workshops and events.

Our programme is a combination of staff-programmed events and open-source programming. We have been the perfect setting for reading groups like A+E Collective's Biosystems, the launchpad for Flipbook Films' monthly themed screenings, a meeting place for Bi+ Glasgow, and a venue for Africa in Motion's 2018 festival. We pay artists a union wage to host workshops like creative writing, bookbinding, zine making, and badge making. We provide an accessible venue to screen films, and a free space for people to host publication launches. We believe that people come alive through making and sharing interests, and have watched our workshop attendees find joy in making together.

Above all, we are an accessible and safe space. We provide a crucial service to our community: a place where anyone can come and read with no judgment and a cup of tea. Young people are often in the particular predicament of having no free space to spend time; there is a feeling of being too young to go to the pub but too old to access free community services often aimed at younger children.

A Halloween screening of "Over the Garden Wall"

Why are we crowdfunding?

We delivered our programme for five months in a temporary location in the Gorbals; since we've left, we've continued our events in venues across the city.

We are so grateful to the organisations and charities that have provided us with free spaces to run our events in the interim, but since we left our space, our collections and workshop materials have been housed in a storage space that is not accessible to the public, our community of readers and makers no longer have a location to gather and enjoy this collection, we can't continue to develop and catalogue our collection for lack of storage space, our online and physical shop has had to close temporarily as our stock is in storage, and our staff no longer has a regular place of work.

Additionally, we have beautiful riso printing facilities as well as a photocopier that would provide printing services to our community, and they are currently inaccessible.

Africa in Motion zine making workshop

What will my donation be used for?

Due to the enormous demand for what we provide to our community, we have received Creative Scotland funding to cover our programming costs and fees for our staff, but this funding does not extend to rent or capital costs. That’s why we’re reaching out to you, our friends, to help us secure a new and exciting premises to continue our important work! We currently have our eyes on one particular Govanhill shopfront to be our long-term home. The only thing standing in our way is our finances. Donations to this crowdfunder will cover essential costs associated with running a space, such as: the deposit, a year of rent, moving costs and a small budget for refurbishment.

We've found a wonderful space in Govanhill, with a landlord who is willing to give us a discount because we're a community organisation. Entering into a proposed three year lease will give us much-needed security, and will allow us to apply for capital costs funding in the future. The space itself will need a bathroom renovation in order to become accessible, and the landlord has okayed us undertaking this work in the space. The shopfront itself is on Cathcart Road, easily accessible from several bus routes (4, 5, 6, 7, 57, 38, 3), plus train stations (Crosshill or Queens Park). Additionally, it's close to so many wonderful community initiatives like Govanhill Community Development Trust, Big Noise Govanhill, Govanhill Baths, Govanhill Neighbourhood Centre, and businesses like Category Is Books and MILK Cafe. The possibilities for collaboration are endless in this area. We are still assessing the cost of a bathroom renovation, but the known costs are as follows:

£475/month for rent in our first year, £500/month in our second and third years.

£1000 deposit + £475 in advance

Your donation will also go toward moving and refurbishing the space. We estimate, based on our last space, that this could take approximately one month, with a breakdown of costs as follows:

New shelving: £400

Paint: £140

Moving van: £120 (£30/hour, based on our storage, this will be a four hour job)

As a publicly funded organisation, we feel it is important to be honest about where our money comes from and how it's used. We have broken down our costs on our website. We're always happy to answer questions about this, so please don't hesitate to email us at glasgowzinelibrary@gmail.com if you'd like to know any further information.