Zine Thesaurus

The Zine Subject Thesaurus is a set of subject terms that can be used to catalogue zines and other alternative publications or content. It is used in the Anchor Archive catalogue and by many zine libraries and collections around the world. It is designed to be accessible, with language that typical zine readers would use to search for content. We strive to include up-to-date terminology used by radical communities to refer to people, places, concepts, and movements.

The Zine Thesaurus was created in 2008 by librarian and zine-maker Amanda Stevens and the zine cataloguers at the Anchor Archive Zine Library. It is now managed, maintained, and updated by a volunteer collective of zine librarians.

Language is ever changing and evolving and can mean different things to different people. We welcome your feedback and suggestions on the choice of terms, relationships between terms, and missing terms. You can submit suggested terms to add to the Thesaurus.

Find more info about using the Zine Thesaurus in our FAQ.

The Thesaurus Management Collective is working on developing features to download terms and updates, an optional membership system to support the thesaurus, interface improvements, and policies on how terms are chosen and relationships created.

We are continuously updating the Thesaurus and adding new terms. We meet monthly for virtual "editathons" and welcome new participants! Contact us through the Anchor Archive if you want to get involved.