The Barnard Zine Library's four student zine librarians will present at the Lesbian Lives conference at the CUNY Graduate Center in October along with staff zine librarians Claudia Acosta and Jenna Freedman.
From the conference proposal:
Our discussion will replicate the conversations we have often as members of queer communities who come from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences and as co-workers. In our discussion, we will explore the history of lesbian (expansive) gender expressions and identities as explored in zines. Zines have served historically as reminders of the importance of visibility, diversity, and memory preservation. More, they are often one of a few outlets for marginalized voices to include themselves in the historical archive. Additionally, we will discuss the role that the Archive (capital A Archive™) has played a role in the fetishization or romanticizing of narrative and the expansive and liberatory roles libraries and Archives can take on to preserve systematically marginalized voices without capitulating to the System and oppressive bodies that seek to erase these stories.