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.
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.
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. 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. The Look Back HQ is located in San Diego, CA, with Marks spending a good portion of the year traveling and installing libraries.
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.
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
Launch - Community through Skateboarding - Fort Collins, CO Curbside skatepark - Englewood, CO
New Mexico
Microwave - Albuquerque, NM
Arizona
Cowtown - Tempe, AZ* Mortal Skate Shop - Tucson, AZ
Virginia
Cardinal Skate Shop - Norfolk, VA
Pennsylvania
Switch & Signal Skatepark - Swissvale, PA Ignition - Lancaster, PA Holistic - Reading, PA Woodward EAST*
New York
Krudco - Rochester, NY Jamestown Skate Products - Jamestown, NY KCDC - Brooklyn, NY
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
Florida The Boardr - Tampa, FL*
Texas Crooks - El Paso, TX AltaVista Skate Shop - San Antonio, TX Devotion Skateboard Company - 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
Ground Floor Skateboards - Rockford, IL Fargo Skateboarding - DeKalb, IL F A Skates - Prospect, IL
Kansas
All City Skateboarding - Wichita, KS River Rat Skate Shop - Lawrence, KS
Michigan
Plus Skateboarding - Farmington, MI
Missouri
Missouri Vortex aka Hermann's Hole, near Hermann, MO* Escapist - Kansas City, MO
Canada
Antisocial - Vancouver, BC ToplessPizza Shredquarters
Australia Hemley Skateboarding - Fitzroy, Victoria
Note: *libraries available by appointment only
References