Book Keepers

The Denver Zine Library opens a new chapter in Colorado letters.

Comments (0) By Jason Heller Thursday, Mar 18 2004

As homey and accessible as the library's archives are, though, Terry has bigger designs for the future. "Our two-year plan is to move this to a storefront," he says. "We're working on nonprofit status and grant-writing. We want to get in copy machines and computers, and have it be a resource center where anyone can make a zine from start to finish and then have it in the library."

"We have a couple students, Birdy Kutz and Amanda Mills, who volunteer here, and one of them is creating a zine-making elective at her high school," adds Costello, who is a teaching assistant at McMeen Elementary School in Glendale. "Hopefully, that'll work out, and there will be kids taking field trips here."

John Johnston

Ex libris: Jamez Terry and Kelly Costello of the Denver Zine Library.

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Besides all the hard work the couple pours into their library, which they open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, they still find energy for making zines of their own. "It's been a good way to share my life," Costello says. "I really like telling stories, but I've always had a lot of anxiety about writing. It was amazing to finally break through that and be able to put something down and put it together and put it out there."

"It's a network of people who are so good to each other," Terry adds. "It's not just about the zines; it's about the community. It can be hard at first, though. When people start getting into zines, they're like, 'I want to read some, but how do I get them?' Here, they're all in one place. Everybody can come by and see them."