Support Grassroots Journalism

I have often heard that print media is dead. I think it’s just in a time of redefinition. Same goes for printed books. I really don’t see a time, at least not in the near future, when books will no longer be printed on paper. There just something about the smell and feel of books in your hand. I still remember the sound of my father flicking his newspaper during commercials while watching an episode M*A*S*H. They weren’t all reruns back then.

I really appreciate media that is for the people and by the people. That’s why I think that zines are an important part of any generation. They are stripped down to the basics. No corporate influence and usually run by those who are passionate about the subject matter. That’s why I was so crestfallen when I read Boing Boing’s piece about the Papercut Zine Library in Cambridge Massachusetts. I love library’s and, until some Bush administration legislation, everything they stand for. And to think of a whole library full of zines. It’s a free lending library focusing on independent publications that is run by volunteers and managed by a collective of like minded people. According to Boing Boing they need a home. The deadline mentioned by Boing Boing has come and gone, either I am way behind or my RSS reader is having issues, and the Papercut Zine Library finds themselves without a permanent home.

It is a great thing they do and they are deserving of all the support they receive and more. There site contains information on what you can do to help. Right now the main objective is to find a space to inhabit. If anyone, all twelve of you, can do anything, please help.

Are there other such libraries? Please let me know and I will be more than happy to post them.