Mitglieddepartmentofsafety

The Department of Safety may not have a fireman’s pole anymore but it does have something just as fun, that will pass as many (if not more!) joyful hours. This wonder of modern scavenging, added in late 2003, is our Zine Library. It is an in-progress collection of zines of all types from around the country and world, gathered for the viewing pleasure of our guests, friends and hostellers. Thanks to generous donations by zinemakers and collectors, our library is always growing, and now occupies a dedicated space on the main floor. It features cozy wood paneling, comfy seating, and even a copy machine and typewriter to facilitate your own zine production.

Close friends of the DoS & regional troublemakers are represented in zines such as “Hoping for Haiku”, “In Your Room” (both Bellingham), “Small Scale Arson” (Seattle), and “Milklife Monthly” (Olympia/Anacortes). We’ve got beautiful zines full of papercuts by Nikki McClure, slick scene reports from faraway locales like the UK (“Taste”), and punk diatribes (“Words of the Rejected”, “Beg, Borrow or Steal”, “Neufutur”). Travel zines to point you to your next destination include “Off the Map”, “The Glovebox Chronicles”, “A Life Unknown”, and “You Were Here”.

Take a break in the sunny DoS common room and read comics “Apollo Astro” (Ipswich, MI) and “Ten Foot Rule” (Portland); bleeding-heart loveletters (“There is a Light that Never Goes Out”) and poetry (“Ghosts of the City”- Atlanta; “Nella Disperazione”- Philly, “The Libera”- Bellingham). Bone up on women’s issues, intellectualism and critique (“Quiet Rumors”, “Marriage and Love”) or spend the afternoon with my personal favorite storyteller, Al Burian (“Natural Disasters”, “Burn Collector”). Learn about cultural variations of grrrl-ish fun in New Zealand’s “Blowjob Queen” and Florida’s “Make Me a Mixtape 5800”.

Because the zine library was founded by a former Floridian, there’s an abundance of takes on the Sunshine State (“Outlet”, “Section 8”, “941”, “Alley-Oop”, “Big Bully” and more), and while I love my homies, it’s important that we keep building and hearing voices from all over. If you’d like to contribute a zine to our collection and won’t be traveling this way, you can send one to the address below. Your work of art will be enjoyed by DoS patrons, travelers and moms aplenty.

Send zines to:
The Department of Safety
Zine Library
1011 12th Street
Anacortes, WA 98221

The zine library is always open during DoS events, and other times by appointment, but you’re always welcome to ring the doorbell and see if anyone’s home.