A couple of months ago Road&Track were about to throw out their old office collection of back issues, photographs, notes, books, promotional literature sent them by car companies, and all manner of paperwork reaching back to the late 1940s when the magazine, one of the most famous and respected in the automotive world, was founded.

There’s a lot – a few tons. Last night we welcomed its arrival at Stanford – to join the (digital) library we’re creating through the Revs Program.

What was about to be put out on the kerbside for garbage collectors and anyone who cared to help themselves has changed into an archive.

What was ephemeral has become a legacy to be conserved –

a heritage moment

of historical transformation.