Zine Thesaurus

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 maintained and updated by a volunteer editorial board of zine librarians. Contact us if you want to get involved.

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 is also in the midst of being developed. Soon there will be easy ways to download terms, an optional membership system to support the thesaurus, interface improvements, policies on how terms are chosen and relationships created, and ways you can get involved and contribute.