The Olympic Studies Centre collection at the General Archives
In recent months, the General Archives Unit has begun acquiring the documentary collections of the various institutes and research centres that make up our university. The Olympic Studies Centre has been the first to transfer its documentation.
Through this initiative, the Unit aims to promote a new approach to the University Archives. Until now, the documentation we preserved was mainly administrative in nature, but the reality of our institution is far broader and more diverse. With the goal of creating a social archive that also helps preserve the memory of research and university life, we have established contacts with several of the University's institutes and research centres.
The first centre to transfer its records was the Olympic Studies Centre (OSC), which is currently integrated into the UAB Institute for Sports Research.
Established in 1989, the Olympic Studies Centre is a university research centre promoted by the UAB in response to the challenge posed by Barcelona's designation as host city of the XXV Olympic Games. Today, the UAB Olympic Studies Centre is an international centre that carries out research, education, documentation and outreach activities both in Barcelona and abroad.
Its mission is to deepen knowledge of how Olympic values, the Olympic Games as a global event, and sport can contribute to building a better society. To achieve this, it promotes and supports research, trains future professionals, and facilitates access to high-quality academic resources.
The transfer includes the institution's administrative records, documentation related to the Centre's research activities, and materials connected with its outreach and dissemination activities, including photographs, posters and brochures.
We are currently working on the organisation, classification and description of this archival collection. Over the coming months, the corresponding information will be made available on the General Archives website, where users will be able to consult the descriptive tools that have been developed and gain a more detailed understanding of the contents of this new collection incorporated into the University's documentary heritage.
This collection will provide insight into the activities carried out by the Centre over more than three decades and will serve as a valuable record of the research projects and institutional collaborations it has promoted throughout its history.