I have been following the goings on of Shop’s zine library ever since there was an appear a couple of month’s back for submissions. Yesterday whilst on a visit to Bristol, I decided to call in and see them on the day the library opened.

The grand opening was in the evening which I unfortunately couldn’t attend but I was allowed though ‘the secret door’ into the newly constructed library to have a look round and to view its contents. The guys there were very welcoming and even treated me to a cup of tea as we chatted about the zines. It was great to see them all lined up along their shelves forward facing (I’ve seen libraries where they just bundle them up into file boxes) and I was very surprised to see many titles and zinesters that I recognised. I had no trouble recognising my own efforts as they peeped out from behind others waiting to be read. Its still a feeling that I’m not quite used to, knowing that they’re going to be read by people but then I guess that was the main reason why I started my Triumph zine, to allow me to gain more confidence in getting my stuff out there.

I found myself nursing the tea as I started going along the shelves reading what others had submitted to the library and I was really impressed at the quality of some of the work. Theres so many clever and creative people out there in the world and the zine is the perfect way to demonstrate this. I noted the titles that I would like to add to my collection and after much reading and realising the time, I left feeling really inspired. I hope the library has the same effect on its other visitors and I wish Shop’s project every success.

People are encouraged to review zines they have read and a new blog has been created so others can read them. This makes me feel even more nervous but I would be interested to see what people have to say about Triumph. Click here to go there. My favourite of the day was The elephant and the Top Hat.