Almost half a year ago, we told you that Hugo House was preparing to donate the 30,000 or so zines that made up the core library of the Zine Archive and Publishing Project (ZAPP) to the Seattle Public Library (SPL). I also interviewed ZAPP staff about their issues with the move.

There's been a lot of silence over the last few months, but now it's official: in a press release dated August 2nd, SPL announced that the collection has officially changed hands and they're now in possession of the ZAPP collection.

Andrew Harbison, assistant director for Collection & Access Services for The Seattle Public Library, said the Library is excited to acquire the collection and provide a permanent and secure home for it. "We recognize the value and cultural significance of this material, which documents an incredibly diverse range of voices, experiences, subjects and perspectives outside of traditional media channels," he said.

Librarian and former ZAPP volunteer Abby Bass added that the collection will support people who self-publish. "The collection is not only a really valuable documentation of our past, but an inspiration for Seattle writers, artists and self-publishers," she said.

The Library expects to receive the ZAPP collection in August. "Once we have the collection, we can begin an inventory and assessment of all the material," Harbison said. "After that work is done, which will take time, we will be able to determine how to make the collection available to the general public, researchers, self-publishers and others." Harbison anticipates material from the ZAPP collection to be featured in Library programs as early as this fall.

Abby Bass, in particular, serves as a kind of bridge between Hugo House and SPL: before she became an SPL librarian, she volunteered at ZAPP, so she can provide much-needed institutional knowledge for the project. We'll keep you posted on the zine collection status as it becomes incorporated into SPL.