Our Favourite Objects – Glamorgan Archives Community Zine

Happy International Archives Day 2026! Today we celebrate the richness of archival collections, and the importance of the work of archivists and archival institutions around the world. In this blog, Rhian Diggins at Glamorgan Archives describes how staff at Glamorgan Archives created a ‘Zine to highlight their favourite items at the Archives.

In March 2026 Glamorgan Archives published its first community zine, ‘Our Favourite Objects’.

Zines are non-commercial publications, usually created and circulated by an individual, focussing on specific interests, and are a means of personal creative expression and, often, activism.

We worked with Charles Johnston, a creative consultant with experience of creating zines and a background in history and archival research, to produce our zine.  Charles interviewed members of the Glamorgan Archives staff team, inviting them to discuss their favourite items at the Archives. The conversations explored why they liked these items, how they’ve made use of them, and how the items have contributed to their work and research. 

As part of this process, participants were encouraged to contribute to the zine by drawing, too, if they wanted to do so, expressing creatively their thoughts about their chosen items.

Charles transcribed the conversations, using them as the basis of a multi-page zine, with a page or more dedicated to each individual item.

Along with extracts from the conversations, the zine includes images of the items selected and artwork inspired by their content and by themes highlighted by the people that chose them.

The zine also includes a guide to accessing Glamorgan Archives, providing step-by-step guidance to help those who may have never used archives before, helping them feel more empowered to do so.

Items selected by staff include a postcard of a First World War munitions worker, watercolours and drawings by artist Mary Traynor, the minute book of the House Committee of the Glamorgan Asylum, Cardiff Police fingerprint and photographic registers, juvenile conviction records, and the drawings of William Burges produced for Cardiff Castle.

The zine has been made available digitally and as a printed version.  The digital zine has been shared through social media channels designed for showcasing zines and creative work, where it can be accessed as a free download: https://manmadezines.itch.io/our-favourite-objects-the-glamorgan-archive-community-zine

It’s also available on Glamorgan Archives’ website: https://glamarchives.gov.uk/our-favourite-objects-the-glamorgan-archive-community-zine/

Printed copies have been placed at Glamorgan Archives and at creative spaces and community hubs, cafes and at universities.  The first copies placed at the Archives disappeared so quickly that a second print run had to be done soon after!

Do take a look at the zine and find out more about Our Favourite Objects.