Oklahoma Today Magazine

About the Collection

In cooperation with the Oklahoma State Department of Tourism and the Oklahoma Department of Career Technology, the OSU Library has digitized the first 50 years of our state’s magazine, including its beginning years when it was called Resourceful Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Today magazine is published bimonthly and reflects the best of Oklahoma’s culture, places, people, travel and food.

In 1950, the Oklahoma Planning and Resources Board began publishing Resourceful Oklahoma as a new format of the board’s monthly newsletter about Oklahoma’s industries. The goal of the magazine was to promote a positive image of Oklahoma after the Dust Bowl. The magazine covered industrial projects throughout the state as well as information and projects from the parks and recreation, forestry and water resources divisions of the board.

Established as the state’s official magazine by the Oklahoma State Legislature in 1956, Oklahoma Today presents the best of what Oklahoma has to offer. Inside the front cover of the first issue of Oklahoma Today, a message from Governor Raymond Gary begins with the statement “To build Oklahoma, we must first believe in Oklahoma – strongly.” This value is carried throughout the magazine’s history.

Oklahoma Today has been named Magazine of the Year eight times by the International Regional Magazine Association, and in 2020 was named Magazine of the Year at the Tulsa Press Club’s annual Great Plains Journalism Awards. The magazine has featured the written and creative work of many notable public figures and prominent writers and creators in addition to the magazine’s regular staff and freelance contributors.

About the Digitization Process

This material was added to the Library's digital collections by the Electronic Publishing Center. The EPC, which was in operation from 2000 to 2008, was an early digitization program at the OSU Library.

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