About John
John Hilbert was the Teen Librarian at the Southern Oaks Library from 2001 until he passed away unexpectedly in 2019.
Devoted to his career and the principles of intellectual freedom, John was a social activist, youth advocate, and supporter of offbeat ideas.
He believed in community service and creating space for teens to talk about social issues. He was a mentor to teens in the south OKC community, providing volunteer opportunities, leadership experience, and a safe space to learn and grow.
About the John Hilbert Zine Collection
This collection began with eleven volumes of “Argh!” zine, created by the Southern Oaks Teen Advisory Board and edited by John Hilbert during his time as the Teen Librarian of the Southern Oaks Library from 2001-2019.
These zines collect youth voices representative of the time period in which each was created. They contain poetry, dream journaling, puzzles and games, fan art, doodles, creative writing, personal stories, photographs, repurposed media, and much more. They represent local teens examining their thoughts and feelings about friends, family life, school, media, current events, and other topics of interest.
This is a dynamic collection that will accept submissions through libraries and schools in Oklahoma County. Zines for this particular collection must be primarily written/drawn by teens ages 13-18 and be a collaboration between 2+ authors/illustrators. Submissions will be added to the digital and print collections at the discretion of the Special Collections and Research department, in conjunction with the Teen Services Manager.
Interested in adding your work to the collection? Submit it to any Metropolitan Library System location with this release form.