Community Zine Project and Fest
Virginia Beach Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
Virginia Beach Public Library’s Community Zine Project amplifies underrepresented and underserved voices across the Hampton Roads region by teaching residents, especially teens, to create and share zines: small-batch, self-published works rooted in DIY culture. The project’s first Zine Fest drew more than 300 attendees and led to a newly launched, teen-curated Zine Collection, giving marginalized and niche voices a lasting, accessible place on library shelves. By pairing hands-on creation with a permanent collection, Virginia Beach Public Library builds confidence, empathy and belonging among community members whose stories are often excluded from traditional publishing.
Challenge/Opportunity
Zines have long been a tool for people in marginalized, underserved and underrepresented communities to share knowledge and perspective outside traditional, gatekept publishing. Yet, public libraries rarely collect them, leaving this format – and the voices behind it – absent from library shelves. Virginia Beach Public Library identified two intertwined challenges:
Equity gap: Teens and community members from underrepresented groups had no low-barrier, library-supported way to create and publicly share personal or creative work.
Operational gap: No library infrastructure existed to support zines as a collection format. Staff had to determine:
• Cataloging and usage-tracking standards
• Shelving/housing for fragile, non-standard shapes and sizes
• Acceptance standards for a donation-based collection
• Signage and marketing to introduce an unfamiliar format
Key Elements of Innovation
In April 2026, Virginia Beach Public Library’s (VBPL), Bayside Area Library hosted its first annual Zine Fest, developed with artists/educators from the Hampton Roads arts community and City partners. The all-day, all-ages event paired hands-on creation stations with teen-led and tech-based workshops, including one using VBPL’s digital archives for creative expression.
Zine Fest launched VBPL’s new Teen Zine Colleciton, built from an open call to creators. The reference-only, donation-based collection is adjacent to the teen collection, filling a gap most library systems haven’t addressed.
Key partners: Hampton Roads artists/educators, municipal government, community art collectives and nonprofits.
Unique/cutting-edge: few public libraries curate an ongoing, community-authored zine collection with matching programming – VBPL built cataloging, shelving and acceptance standards from scratch, advancing all VBPL priorities: Connection, Enrichment, Communication, Empowerment, Collaboration.
Achieved Outcomes
Zine Fest drew 300+ attendees. As of August 2026, the Teen Zine Collection held 110 zines from 56 authors and continues to grow – a direct, measurable expansion of underrepresented voices on VBPL shelves. Collection size/use, program attendance and partnerships are tracked.
New partnerships created due to this innovation:
• WHRO Grant funding year-round zine programming and Zine Fest 2027
• Norfolk State University collaboration: first-year students write zines about the college transition for VBPL’s teen collection
• Old Dominion University librarians and teachers from 3 area high schools, incorporating a zine lesson plan
• PBS Student Reporting Labs adding journalism/script-writing program
• Samaritan House (housing/support services nonprofit): 5-session identity-focused zine program
Supporting Materials:
- Facebook Short: @VirginiaBeachPublicLibrary "Looking for something creative and totally unique?
Join us at Bayside Library for Zine Mini Fest! From screenprinting to steamroller powered prints, you’ll find hands on activities, live demos, and local creatives sharing their craft. Drop in anytime between 12 – 4 p.m. on April 18 for this all ages celebration of art and DIY expression. Special thanks to Studio Shift, SuperCompStudios and our event sponsors! "
