Representations of the alternative press in academic library collections

Abstract

This study uses the list of periodicals indexed by Alternative Press Index to examine the holdings rates of alternative press titles in U.S. ARL libraries. Holdings rates are examined by library, by title, and by subject category. Alternative press titles are not widely held in U.S. ARL libraries. Titles falling into categories such as leftist/Marxist politics, gay/lesbian, and labor are particularly underrepresented in library holdings, as are titles that are newsletters or magazines. The impact of these low holdings rates on scholars, students, and archival library collections is discussed.