Thompson Library exhibit, “Scrap Paper: Belonging & Resistance,” explores community and connection

Scrap paper, zines and posters tell stories of belonging, resistance and community in “Scrap Paper: Belonging & Resistance,” now on display at Thompson Library. Photo Credit: Natalie Boggs | Arts and Life Photo Editor

Thompson Library’s newest exhibit brings together collections of community-centered creations, which have been compiled for display from the university’s Rare Books & Manuscripts Library.??

“Scrap Paper: Belonging & Resistance” opened Aug. 25, and was curated by two Ohio State librarians, Courtney Hunt and Leticia Wiggins. The collection features a variety of zines — shorter, typically self-published books — with an emphasis on creators who are under-appreciated, according to the website.

“We have so many different zines on a bunch of different topics,” said Wiggins, an ethnic studies librarian. “We just really wanted to show off some of these, especially ones by creators that are maybe less represented.”

Hunt, an art and design librarian, said she appreciates how zines are typically published amongst a specific community, and how they can foster connection.?

“I definitely see them as a community-building and connection tool,” Hunt said.

Hunt said she loves how easy zines are to create and distribute.

“You can do a zine just really quickly and get it out there, and they’re very easy to disseminate,” she said. “There’s less barrier to entry, so people get really creative with them.”

Wiggins said zines are integral to the library’s collection of books and publications.?

“It is something that’s such a physical artifact.” Wiggins said. “You can order them online, but it’s almost more special when you just happen upon one. That kind of importance of the physical is something. You can lay in bed with one and really soak it in or read it on the way somewhere.”?

Among the exhibit’s curated displays of different types and eras of zines, there is also an open library of zines where visitors can read existing publications or contribute one of their own.?

Hunt said she and Wiggins incorporated the library within the exhibit to help cultivate a sense of community that the exhibit is founded on.

“The concept there was to create a current, more modern zine library,” Hunt said. “Folks can come in, peruse [and] add one of their own, and we’re hoping it kind of is a living and changing thing that points to the power of this information sharing.”

Hunt said she enjoys seeing visitors take an interest in the zines.?

Visitors can also create and mail postcards at an interactive station in the exhibit, Wiggins said. The station was designed to help visitors experience the connection that can be established through zines without them needing to make an entire publication.

“If you make one zine and you walk out, no one ever sees it,” Wiggins said. “If you make a postcard [or] maybe you’re doodling, you’re thinking about somebody and then you mail it — that’s a different thing.”?

More than 60 postcards have been created at the station since the exhibit’s opening, Wiggins said. Visitors who do not wish to mail their postcards can put them on a wall of the exhibit, turning their work into part of the exhibit.

Wiggins said she and Hunt hope their exhibit can give people the sense of belonging reflected in its title.

“Folks are asking [about] this kind of community displayed in the exhibit, which ranges from circa 1950s to present,” Wiggins said. “‘Does it still exist? Is this something that we’ve lost?’ I don’t think it is, and I want people to know that it isn’t.”?

Oct. 12, Thompson Library will host a workshop from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and moderated conversation from 4-5:30 p.m. to accompany the exhibit. Registration for these events is due Oct. 1, and can be found on the website.?

“Scrap Paper: Belonging & Resistance” is located on the first floor of Thompson Library and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. The exhibit will remain open through Feb. 7, 2027.

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