"Outdoor Recreation Archive: looking back over the last 60 years of the outdoor world
The importance of recording. Nowadays, recording events is much simpler, most of us have smartphones that allow us to record and photograph that which, for us, must endure over time.
But what about those archives that pre-date the digital age - do social media manage to be an effective recording platform?
This and other questions are the ones Sean Michael should have asked himself in 2017 before creating "Outdoor Recreation ArchiveThe archive brings together a wealth of information about the outdoor world and industry over the last 60 years.
Where did the idea of the "Outdoor Recreation Archive" come from?
This project born in 2017 with Sean Michael, professor at the Utah State University (USU). Sean Michael came up with the idea of making a collection in which the history of the outdoor could be traced and preserved.
To do so, he turned to the university's curator of collections and special archives, Clint Pumphrey. The two decided to take the proposal to Chase Anderson, who was director of the school's Outdoor Product Design and Development (OPDD) programme.
From this was born the USU Special Collections and Archives (SCA) partnership with the Outdoor Product Design and Development (OPDD) program of the Faculty of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. In recent years, this team has been responsible for reviewing, curating and classifying catalogues, magazines and all kinds of publications related to outdoor activities.
What is in this file?
Like any good project, the team started out eagerly but without imagining the vast amount of material they would be able to access. The first step was the collection of published catalogues and magazines. since 1960.
The collection grew and became truly amazing. Donations of records of all kinds started coming in, no longer just catalogues or magazines. By March 2021, the team had amassed a collection of 3,000 publications from 200 different publishers, and by December, the collection was already close to 10,000 publications from over 800 different publishers and sources.
In addition to the catalogues and magazines, this collection has photographs, manuscripts and books related to outdoor activities. of the last 60 years.
As well as serving as a record and a history of these activities, the archive highlights the importance of the outdoors and outdoor activities: importance commercially, environmentally and socially.
A file that found its way onto the internet
The truth is that the team from Utah State University had no plans to disseminate this information widely.The main intention was to create a collection for the university itself, nothing more.
Its growth led those involved to understand the importance of the project and decided to upload everything they had accumulated so far to the internet.
At Instagram gather more than 15,000 followers to those showing publications with all this collected archive. Here you can have a look at his Instagram profile.
In an article published by "Gear JunkieChase Anderson, director of the Outdoor Product Design and Development (OPDD) programme, account that Instagram has been a very powerful tool which has connected them with professionals in the field from all over the world.
Some of the most striking features are
Although each individual can enjoy the archive and find what interests them most, some of the most notable features are:
1. By bringing together several magazine publications, it is possible to see the number of specialised outdoor media outlets in the world. of the last 60 years. Also, through each shared cover, one can understand the context of the time and even compare with the present day: who are the most prominent figures today? How have these activities evolved?
2. The details in different advertising catalogues are also a jewel of this archive. Not only is the photo of this publication shared, but also the emphasis is placed on the details that there isThe brands that once sold and continue to sell many of these brands.
3. The photographs of outdoor activities are always impressive. and even has special categories for major photography awards worldwide. The outstanding work of photographers. It is not something of the present and the technologies that have made it easier to capture moments with a simple mobile phone, for more than 60 years these activities have been captured in spectacular fashion.
4. In six decades, not only brands and specialised magazines have been created, but also the publication of specialised books has been achieved which can also be found in the Outdoor Recreation Archive.
5. Another feature of the work carried out by the Utah State University team is the space for debate and discussion. conversation via his podcast and YouTube channelwhich draws on the connections that Anderson said had been possible.
