The Orderly Disorder: Librarian Zinesters in Circulation Tour will be stopping in Murfreesboro for a performance at Linebaugh Public Library at 7 p.m. June 29. This program is free and open to the public; light refreshments will be served.

Four librarian zinesters (people who work in a library of any kind who also make zines) will be reading from their zines as part of the event:

• Jenna Freedman, author of Lower East Side Librarian and librarian at Barnard Library (in New York, NY).
• Celia Perez, author of I Dreamed I Was Assertive and Atlas of Childhood and reference librarian (from Chicago, Ill.).
• Debbie Rasmussen, former publisher of Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture and curator of the Fly Away Zine Mobile (from Minneapolis, MN).

• John Stevens, librarian from the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.

The tour will also feature Rasmussen’s Fly Away Zine Mobile, a travelling zine library that offers information about zines and other forms of DIY publishing.

Zines are independently produced, usually not-for-profit, and often quite personal publications that exist outside of more recognizable publication types (such as books, magazines, or newspapers). Linebaugh Library is one of only two libraries in Tennessee to include a zine collection.

The librarians are embarking on their zine reading tour at the 2011 American Library Association annual conference in New Orleans on June 26, travelling through central North America to finish in Milwaukee, Wisc., for the Zine Librarian (un)Conference in early July. The readings will all happen in public spaces that have close ties with the zine community, including progressive literature outlets, public libraries, community resource centers, and academic institutions.

“Zine readings are quite distinct from most spoken-word events,” Stevens said. “The humble approaches taken by zinesters when assembling their ephemeral creations tends to generate an intimacy that is difficult to reach at a novel launch/reading. Furthermore, most zine-makers choose the form for its directness, which is often utilized with an implied trust in the veracity of the often unknown audience, which makes the public readings of their work an even more cherished experience.” 

Linebaugh Public Library is located at 105 W. Vine St. in Murfreesboro. The Library is the cornerstone of our community, enriching lives through free resources for learning, fun, and opportunity. For more information, call 615-893-4131 or visit www.linebaugh.org/zines.htm. For more information about the Fly Away Zine Mobile or the Orderly Disorder tour, visit zinemobile.wordpress.com.