Ah, a new literary oasis, and she the zine queen

Just blocks from some of the world's most esteemed libraries, a very different reading room has sprung up: Papercut Zine Library, dedicated solely to the quirky, independently published magazines known as ''zines."

It's a humble space, a small, wood-paneled room in a fading leftist meeting hall, with a hand-printed sign taped to the peeling front door.

But its wooden shelves are filled with more than 2,000 zines -- personal, self-published expressions historically rooted in the science fiction pulp ''fanzines" of the 1930s.

Papercut's zines are stapled, tied with twine, tucked in tiny envelopes, bound, photocopied, and shelved in categories like political, food, queer and transsexual, foreign language, music, race, sex, and radical parenting. They are also hand-recorded in an alphabetized card catalog.

''I think it's . . . awesome," said 20-year-old Rea Demko, curled up on the library's couch, engrossed in a meticulously illustrated feminist zine one afternoon a few weeks ago. ''It's definitely one of those places you can come and read and block out the rest of the world."

The library drew plenty of curious readers in the two weeks following its May 14 opening, said its 22-year-old-founder, Michelle Millette, who lives in Jamaica Plain.

It is now run by a ''collective" of about 10 volunteer librarians, but it was Millette who was inspired to open a reading room while helping a friend clean last year.

''I noticed he had tons and tons of zines laying around," said the Massachusetts College of Art student, who favors all black, combat boots, and belts covered with bullets and studs. '' 'Why aren't you doing anything with them?' " she said she asked him.

Within months, she was posting fliers and sending mass e-mails, seeking like-minded zine lovers. Luckily, among the folks who responded was a Harvard student familiar with the Harvard Social Forum hall on Mt. Auburn Street.

Amazingly, the group was able to trade building labor for a free room, Millette said. ''It's just a beautiful space."

Now it's filled with zines that library members, who receive hand-drawn cards, can borrow for free, four at a time. The library happily accepts donations to its growing collection, Millette said, as long as they aren't racist, sexist, or homophobic.

''We'd even accept right-wing if someone submitted them," she said. ''But mostly everything we have is left-wing or radical."

The zines are generally alternative, and some are racy; they can be pornographic, lewd, and edgy. Some are historical, like the '80s zines that skewer Ronald Reagan and the campy Beatles fanzine Millette found by a Dumpster. Others are miniature artworks: beautifully illustrated diaries, pages filled with poetry, photos, essays, and comics.

Many are irreverent. The political shelf features titles like ''Work Sucks!" and ''Rent: an Injustice." Cooking offers ''Zen and the Art of Brownie Baking" and ''Church of Seitan," a bible on turning wheat gluten to fake meat.

One do-it-yourself title explains how to ''Rock Out!" The humor shelf offers ''Exercise with Alcohol," with photos demonstrating how to lift beer cases and do bar push-ups.

''The humor section is my surprise favorite," admitted librarian-on-duty Katharine Jordan, 20. ''There's a zine all about presidential beards . . . it's hilarious."

Millette loves to leaf through the zines. They are all so unusual, she said, so unconstrained by convention, advertising, and publishing mores.

Many of the creators are very talented, she said. They just don't have money and connections to get their work out there. She hopes the library can help fix that.

''Look at this one," she said excitedly, holding up a leaflet titled ''War and Kittens." Inside, plastic sheets stamped with a tiny red kitten were superimposed over grainy photos of soldiers. ''It's so smart."

Papercut Zine Library is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days per week at 45 Mt. Auburn St. in Cambridge. For more information, call 617-492-2606 or go to www.baamboston.org/papercut/index.htm.