Look Back Library

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Look Back Library
Look Back Library Zine.jpg
Formation2015; 6 years ago (2015)
FounderKevin Marks
TypeNonprofit organization
HeadquartersSan Diego, California, U.S.
Staff
1
Websitelookbacklibrary.org

Look Back Library (LBL) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of skateboard magazines, and other printed skateboard materials, through traveling exhibits and the building of publicly accessible skateboard magazine libraries.[1][2][3]

Mission[]

As a "Skate Mag Preservation Society" the Look Back Library aims to promote literacy and the appreciation of printed skateboard materials, particularly magazines. The LBL engages in community outreach through exhibits of classic skate magazines; as well as, installing skate magazine libraries at local Skate shops and other venues.[4]

The Look Back Library at KCDC skate shop in Brooklyn, NY has many old and new issues of skate magazines from Thrasher to Strength to Slap

History[]

Founded by Kevin Marks in 2014, the Look Back Library originated from a pet project of Marks' to improve the skate magazine library at Launch, a community skate organization located in Fort Collins, Colorado.[5][6] While improving the library at Launch, he noticed considerable interest from both readers and collectors. Marks conceived of the Look Back Library as a way to place the magazine duplicates he was accumulating into a space where the public could read them.[2] The Look Back HQ is located in San Diego, CA, with Marks spending a good portion of the year traveling and installing libraries.[7][8]

41 Years of the Ollie[]

In 2019, Look Back Library travelled around the United States, touring a show titled 41 Years of the Ollie - a magazine cover exhibit exploring the history of the ollie.[9]

Look Back Library traveling exhibit of classic skateboard magazines at a skate shop in New Brunswick, NJ

Libraries[]

California[]

  • Slappy's Garage - San Diego
  • Look Back HQ - San Diego, CA*
  • Local Skate Shop - Lakeside
  • The House Skate Shop - Vista
  • Handplant - Laguna Beach
  • Socal Skate Shop - Mission Viejo
  • Focus Board Shop - Lake Forest
  • Joker's Skate Shop - Huntington
  • Next Up Foundation - Anaheim
  • Contenders Boardshop - Orange
  • Long Beach Skate - Long Beach, CA
  • Transitions - Carson, CA
  • Apt Skate Shop - Torrance, CA
  • 3043 Board Shop - South Gate, CA
  • South Bay Skates - Torrance, CA
  • Unmodern Industries - Santa Fe Springs, CA
  • The Garage Board Shop - Los Angeles, CA
  • Six Stair - Los Angeles, CA*
  • Overcast Skate Shop - Temecula, CA
  • Kingswell - Los Angeles, CA
  • Off Top - Los Angeles, CA
  • Skate Punk Skate Shop - City of Industry, CA
  • Pawn Shop Skate Co. - Covina, CA
  • Crooks Skate Shop - Riverside, CA
  • Skateboarding Hall of Fame - Simi Valley, CA
  • Lighthouse Skate Shop - Santa Barbara, CA
  • Impact Skate Shop - Bakersfield, CA
  • Skate Works - Los Altos, CA
  • Red Curbs Skate Shop - Fremont, CA
  • The Orchid - Goleta, CA*
  • Red Curbs II - Concord, CA
  • San Francisco Skate Club - San Francisco, CA
  • Mission Skate Shop - San Francisco, CA
  • Proof Lab - Mill Valley, CA
  • Brotherhood Board Shop - Santa Rosa, CA
  • Street Science - Livermore, CA
  • Kingpin Skate Shop - San Joaquin County, CA
  • Woodward West  - Stallion Springs, CA*
  • Boulevard Skate Shop - Sacramento, CA
  • Hangtown Board Shop - Placerville, CA

Washington[]

  • Unknown Board Shop - Bellingham, WA
  • All Together Skatepark - Seattle, WA

Oregon[]

  • Shrunken Head Skate Shop - Portland, OR
  • SOL SK8S - Bend, OR
  • Windell's Camp*

Colorado[]

New Mexico[]

  • Microwave - Albuquerque, NM

Arizona[]

  • Cowtown - Tempe, AZ*
  • Mortal Skate Shop - Tucson, AZ

Virginia[]

Pennsylvania[]

New York[]

New Jersey[]

  • NJ Skate Shop 1 - Jersey City, NJ
  • NJ Skate Shop 2 - New Brunswick, NJ
  • High Voltage Cafe - Asbury Park, NJ

Massachusetts[]

  • The Edge Indoor Skatepark - Taunton, MA

Maryland[]

  • Vu Skate Shop - Baltimore, MD

North Carolina[]

  • Backdoor Skate Shop - Greenville, NC

Georgia[]

  • Ruin - Dunwoody, GA

South Carolina[]

  • Continuum - Charleston, SC[11]

Florida[]

  • The Boardr - Tampa, FL*

Texas[]

  • Crooks - El Paso, TX
  • AltaVista Skate Shop - San Antonio, TX
  • 4Dwn skatepark - Dallas, TX
  • Deviance Skate Supply - Wichita Falls, TX
  • Southside Skate Shop - Houston, TX

Oklahoma[]

  • Nine One Skate - Tulsa, OK

Nebraska[]

  • Precision Skate Shop - Lincoln, NE

Kentucky[]

  • Riot Skatepark - Louisville, KY

Indiana[]

  • Minus - Indianapolis, IN
  • Rhett Skateboarding - Bloomington, IN
  • Killer Skatepark - Evansville, IN

Tennessee[]

  • Hunt Supply Co - Nashville, TN
  • Sixth Avenue Skatepark - Nashville, TN

Ohio[]

  • Tri-Star Skates - Cleveland, OH  
  • Demented Skate Shop - Liberty Township, Butler County, OH

Wisconsin[]

  • Cream City Skatepark - Butler, WI
  • Freedom - Madison, WI

Minnesota[]

  • Familia HQ Skatepark - Minneapolis, MN

Illinois[]

Kansas[]

  • All City Skateboarding - Wichita, KS
  • River Rat Skate Shop - Lawrence, KS

Michigan[]

Missouri[]

  • Missouri Vortex aka Hermann's Hole, near Hermann, MO*
  • Escapist - Kansas City, MO

Canada[]

  • Antisocial - Vancouver, BC
  • ToplessPizza Shredquarters

Australia[]

Note: *libraries available by appointment only

References[]

  1. ^ "Lookback Library Video and Events". www.thrashermagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "LOCALS: BUILDING FREE SKATE MAGAZINE LIBRARIES WITH KEVIN MARKS". Jenkem Magazine. 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  3. ^ "Look Back Library: the World's Largest Collection of Skate Magazines". HYPEBEAST. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  4. ^ "How the world's biggest skate mag collection become a hub for learning". Huck Magazine. 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  5. ^ "Look Back Library". Next Up Foundation. 2017-02-08. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  6. ^ admin (2016-04-24). "Looking Back Library – Interview with Kevin Marks by Sergej Vutuc". Confusion Magazine: International Skateboarding Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  7. ^ "These Skateboard Magazine Libraries Are Fighting To Immortalise Print". Konbini - All Pop Everything! (in French). Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  8. ^ "A Look into the Look Back Library". SOLO Skateboardmagazine.
  9. ^ "Lookback Library Video and Events". www.thrashermagazine.com.
  10. ^ "CATCHING UP WITH KEVIN, THE TRAVELING SKATE MAG LIBRARIAN". Jenkem Magazine. 9 July 2019.
  11. ^ Bland, David Travis. "Kevin Marks Brings His Archive of Skateboard Magazines to Columbia". Post and Courier.
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