Hardly an exhaustive list of zine resources available online, the selections below should be thought of as a list of the central zine "hubs" on the Internet. Discussion groups and boards related to zines abound and are not specifically covered here, although several of the sites below may contain links to these groups.

Women's and Grrrls' Zine Resource

Grrrl Zine Network: http://grrrlzines.net/index.htm

Elke Sobl's comprehensive guide to women's and grrrls' zines is the online hub for the female zine community. In addition to extensive links and reviews of zines from both the U.S. and all over the world, the site features discussion boards, links to zine distributors ("distros"), articles on zine history, reviews with female zinesters, and resources on feminism and feminist organizations. A "Writing" section allows scholars and zine researchers to post news of their work, and is a good way to keep up with new zine scholarship.

General Zine Resources

The Book of Zines: Readings from the Fringe: http://zinebook.com/

Neither UNC's nor Duke's libraries contain the print edition of Chip Rowe's The Book of Zines: Readings from the Fringe. Luckily, he's included a good deal of its content here. An invaluable directory of zine links, which Rowe does an excellent job of maintaining, this site is a good first stop for anyone conducting zine research on the web.

Broken Pencil: http://www.brokenpencil.com/index.php

Canada's answer to Factsheet Five (below), this "magazine of zine culture and the independent arts" pays ample attention to the American zine scene as well. Hundreds of zine reviews, dating from 1999, are available online, and can be searched or sorted in several ways (try a keyword search on "women").

Factsheet Five: Your Guide to Zines and Alternative Publishing: http://www.factsheet5.org/

After nearly a decade-long hiatus, the Bible of zine reviews, Factsheet Five, has found a new publisher and is expected to begin publication again in Summer 2006. The old incarnation of F5 included lengthy sections of reviews of women's zines, and the new version will likely do the same. News on the publication status of the zine guide, as well as reviews from the 1985-1998 issues, are planned for this website. And of course, urge your library to subscribe to the new print version!

The Street Librarian: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/7423/?source=zinebook

Chris Dodge, alternative publications guru for Utne Reader, has pulled together a jumble of a site that covers everything from underground media to his own reading list. His zine resources include a linked list of currently-publishing zines, including a substantial portion of women's zines, and a possibly comprehensive bibliography of articles, books, essays, etc. on zines.

Zine World: A Reader's Guide to the Underground Press: http://www.undergroundpress.org/index.html

One of the publications that attempted to fill the void left by Factsheet Five's decision to stop publishing in the early 1990s, Zine World is largely a collection of zine and underground media reviews. The print magazine isn't carried by either the UNC or Duke Libraries, and the website, unfortunately, does not carry every review printed in the magazine (and the reviews it does carry aren't searchable). However, the site does contain a wealth of resources on the nuts and bolts of zines, zine etiquette, zine events, and zine ordering/trading. A general "sampler" of zine reviews, as well as a PDF segment of the reviews included in the latest issue, provide an introduction to the honest and often caustic zine reviews that are the trademark of this publication.

Distros

A do-it-yourself publication has to have a do-it-yourself means of dissemination. Enter the distros (short for "distributors"), cottage industries (often run by zinesters themselves) that arrange to sell a vast inventory of zines on behalf of their authors. Many of the major women's and grrrls' zine distros, like Ericka Bailie's Pander Zine Distro and Sarah Wood's GERLL Press, are no longer in business. A selection of distros that carry women's zines (along with other titles) are noted below. Distros often include staff or reader reviews with their zine listings, so regular visits to these sites can be a good way to learn about new zines and keep up-to-date on current zine genres and trends.

Echo Zine Distro: http://www.geocities.com/echozinedistro/

Run by Michelle Downer out of Madison, Wisconsin, Echo Zine Distro's inventory heavily favors women's zines, including several important titles that, due to space concerns, couldn't be mentioned in these pages. The zine researcher may also wish to purchase a copy of the valuable resource The Whizzbanger's Guide to Zine Distributors from this site.

HousewifeXCore Distro: http://www.freewebs.com/housewifexcore/index.htm

Although their inventory is currently rather small, HousewifeXCore caters specifically to Grrrl-, Queer-, and Trans-Positive Zines. They carry an extensive collection of one-issue zines on women's health topics.

Microcosm Publishing: http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/

Husband and wife Joe Biel and Alex Wrekk run their distro out of Portland, Oregon. They carry a large inventory of women's zine titles, including Doris, Hot Pantz, and Stolen Sharpie Revolution.

Quimby's Bookstore: http://quimbys.com/premise.php

Chicago's venerable Quimby's Bookstore carries over 1000 zine titles, in addition to a wide selection of other underground media publications. Although their zine catalog cannot be searched or sorted according to keyword (you can search by title), they sell many women's and grrrls' zines, including The East Village Inky and I Dreamed I Was Assertive.