UNL Libraries Hosts Zine Making Workshop
Participants learned the history of zines and made their own homemade mini magazines at Love Library South.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Scrapbooking
UNL Libraries hosted a Zine Making Workshop on November 3 in Love Library South. The event included a presentation on the history and impact of zines, after which participants made their own.
Why it matters
Zines are inexpensive, self-published mini magazines that have long served as a platform for unconventional subject matter. The workshop offered a hands-on way to learn that tradition in Lincoln.
Zines are mini homemade magazines that are often produced at little to no cost, and they originated around the 1930s in science fiction fandom. The extraction does not report attendance figures for the November 3 workshop.
The players
UNL Libraries
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln library system that hosted the workshop as part of its public programming.
Meghan Otoupalik
An instruction specialist at UNL Libraries who presented the history of zine making during the workshop.
Richard Graham
A professor of teaching partnership who uses zines as a teaching method in English and history classes.
The details
Meghan Otoupalik, an instruction specialist at UNL Libraries, presented a slideshow on the eras of zine making. Participants then examined existing zines, identifying the creator, intended audience, and theme before folding and cutting paper to make their own.
Timeline
Nov. 3: Zine Making Workshop held in Love Library South.
Culture Shift
Zines have moved through the 1960s counterculture, the 1970s punk era, and the 1990s Riot Grrrl punk movement as self-published outlets for unconventional voices. The Lincoln workshop carries that do-it-yourself tradition into a university library setting.
Lincoln residents interested in making their own zines can look for similar programs at UNL Libraries. The workshop shows that zine making requires only paper, folding, and cutting, with no special equipment needed.
The takeaway
Zines are a low-cost way to publish your own ideas, and the hands-on format makes them easy to try at home with basic paper and scissors.
Further reading
Explore more hands-on craft ideas in our Scrapbooking section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Daily Nebraskan.
