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PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES

The Presidential library system is made up of 10 Presidential libraries. This nationwide network of libraries is administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is a part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), located in College Park, Maryland. These are not traditional libraries, but rather repositories for preserving and making accessible the papers, records, and other historical materials of U.S. Presidents since Herbert Hoover. Each Presidential library contains a museum and provides an active series of public programs. Also included in the Presidential library system is the Nixon Presidential Materials Staff, which administers the Nixon Presidential materials under the terms of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, and the William J. Clinton Presidential Materials Project in Little Rock, Arkansas, which administers the Clinton Presidential materials. When a President leaves office, NARA establishes a Presidential project until a new Presidential library is built and transferred to the Government.

[Images of Presidents Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George Bush]

A BRIEF HISTORY

Before the advent of the Presidential library system, Presidents or their heirs often dispersed Presidential papers at the end of the administration. Though many pre-Hoover collections now reside in the Library of Congress, others are split among other libraries, historical societies, and private collections. Sadly, there are many instances of Presidential materials being lost or deliberately destroyed.

The Presidential library system formally began in 1939 when President Franklin Roosevelt donated his personal and Presidential papers to the Federal Government. At the same time, Roosevelt pledged part of his estate at Hyde Park to the United States, and friends of the President formed a private, non-profit corporation to raise funds for the construction of the library and museum building. Roosevelt's decision stemmed from a firm belief that Presidential papers are an important part of the national heritage and should be accessible to the public. He asked the National Archives to take custody of his papers and other historical materials and to administer his library. At the dedication of his library on June 30, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt observed:

To bring together the records of the past and to house them in buildings where they will be preserved for the use of men and women in the future, a Nation must believe in three things.

• It must believe in the past.
• It must believe in the future.
• It must, above all, believe in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain in judgement in creating their own future.

In 1950, Harry S. Truman decided that he, too, would build a library to house his Presidential papers and helped to galvanize congressional action. In 1955, Congress enacted the Presidential Libraries Act, establishing a system of privately erected and federally maintained libraries. The Act encouraged other Presidents to donate their historical materials to the Government and ensured the preservation of Presidential papers and their availability to the American people. Under this and subsequent acts, nine more libraries have been established. In each case private and nonfederal sources provided the funds to build the library. Once completed, the private organizations turned over the libraries to the National Archives and Records Administration to operate and maintain. The Clinton Library is scheduled for completion in 2004 and will be turned over to NARA at that time.

Until 1978, Presidents, scholars, and legal professionals held the view dating back to George Washington that the records created by the President or his staff while in office remained the personal property of the President and were his to take with him when he left office. The first Presidential libraries were built on this concept. NARA successfully persuaded Presidents to donate their historical materials to the Government for housing in a Presidential library managed by NARA.

The Presidential Records Act of 1978 established that the Presidential records that document the constitutional, statutory, and ceremonial duties of the President are the property of the US Government. After the President leaves office, the Archivist of the United States assumes custody of the records. The Act allowed for the continuation of Presidential libraries as the repository for Presidential records.

The Presidential Libraries Act of 1986 also made significant changes to Presidential libraries, requiring private endowments linked to the size of the facility. NARA uses these endowments to offset a portion of the maintenance costs for the library.

HOLDINGS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES

The 10 Presidential libraries, the Nixon Presidential Materials Staff, and the Clinton Presidential Materials Project maintain over 400 million pages of textual materials; 7 million photographs; 14.5 million feet of motion picture film; 83,000 hours of disc, audiotape, and video-tape recordings; and 475,000 museum objects. These varied holdings make each library a rich source of information and a center for research on the Presidency.

The most important materials in each library are those the President and his staff create in the course of their official duties. In recently established Presidential libraries, these documents can also be in electronic form. Researchers will also find that each library contains a rich audiovisual and photographic record of a President at work. Taken together, these historical materials form the substantive record of public policy in each administration. Libraries also house numerous museum objects including family heirlooms, items collected by the President or his family, campaign memorabilia, awards, and the many gifts given to the President by American citizens and foreign dignitaries. These gifts range in type from homemade items to valuable works of art. Curators in Presidential libraries and in other museums throughout the country draw upon these collections for historical exhibits.

Other significant holdings include the personal papers and historical materials donated by individuals associated with the President. These individuals may include cabinet officials, envoys to foreign governments, political party associates, and the President's family and personal friends. Several libraries have undertaken oral history programs that have produced valuable tape-recorded memoirs. A third body of materials comprises the papers accumulated by the President prior to, and following, his Presidency. Such collections include documents relating to Roosevelt's tenure as Governor of New York and Eisenhower's long military career.

PUBLIC AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Each library offers a variety of public and educational programs designed to give visitors a better understanding of the President, the institution of the Presidency, and the American political system as a whole. Exhibits, conferences, and lectures funded by privately endowed library foundations are among the special events that help define a library and enhance its role as a repository and cultural institution. Museum exhibits utilize library holdings to depict the stages of the President's life, the important policy decisions of his administration, and the various world and national events that occurred during his term. Each library has a museum store that offers books and other gift items.

Libraries work with educators to encourage the use of primary source materials by students, and sponsor public lectures, film series, and other events of historical or current interest. Conferences are another way in which the libraries serve the public, examining a variety of topics ranging from public affairs and domestic policy to foreign affairs and world wars. To receive the latest information on library events or further information on the holdings of each library, please contact the libraries directly.

Hours of operation and admission charges vary at each site. Visitors are encouraged to contact the libraries directly for more information.

Herbert Hoover Library
210 Parkside Drive
P.O. Box 488
West Branch, IA 52358-0488
Telephone: 319-643-5301
Fax: 319-643-5825
Email: hoover.library@nara.gov
Web site: hoover.archives.gov

[Image of Hoover Library]

Presidency: 1929-33
Dedication Date: August 1962
Nearby: Hoover's birthplace and gravesite

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
4079 Albany Post Road
Hyde Park, NY 12538-1999
Telephone: 845-229-8114
Fax: 845-229-0872
Email: roosevelt.library@nara.gov
Web site: www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu

[Image of Roosevelt Library]

Presidency: 1933-45
Dedication Date: June 1941
Nearby: Roosevelt's birthplace, home, and gravesite

Harry S. Truman Library
500 West US Highway 24
Independence, MO 64050-1798
Telephone: 816-833-1400
Fax: 816-833-4368
Email: truman.library@nara.gov
Web site: www.trumanlibrary.org

[Image of Truman Library]

Presidency: 1945-53
Dedication Date: July 1957
Nearby: Truman's home and gravesite

Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
200 SE 4th Street
Abilene, KS 67410-2900
Telephone: 785-263-475 1
Fax: 785-263-4218
Email: eisenhowerlibrary@nara.gov
Web site: www.eisenhower.utexas.edu

[Image of Eisenhower Library]

Presidency: 1953-61
Dedication Date: May 1962
On-site: Eisenhower's boyhood home and gravesite

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library
Columbia Point
Boston, MA 02125-3398
Telephone: 617-929-4500
Fax: 617-929-4538
Email: kennedy.library@nara.gov
Web site: www.jfklibrary.org

[Image of JFK Library]

Presidency: 1961-63
Dedication Date: October 1979
Nearby: Kennedy's birthplace

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
2313 Red River Street
Austin, TX 78705-5702
Telephone: 512-916-5137
Fax: 512-916-5171
Email: johnson.library@nara.gov
Web site: www.lbjlib.utexas.edu

[Image of LBJ Library]

Presidency: 1963-69
Dedication Date: May 1971
Nearby: Johnson's birthplace and ranch

Gerald R. Ford Library
1000 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114
Telephone: 734-741-2218
Fax: 734-741-2341
Email: ford.library@nara.gov
Web site: www.ford.utexas.edu

[Image of Ford Library]

Presidency: 1974-77
Dedication Date: April 1981

Gerald R. Ford Museum
303 Pearl Street NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504-5353
Telephone: 616-451-9263
Fax:616-451-9570
Email: ford.museum@nara.
Web site: www.ford.utexas.edu

[Image of Ford Museum]

Dedication Date: September 1981

Jimmy Carter Library
441 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307-1498
Telephone: 404-331-3942
Fax: 404-730-2215
Email: carterlibrary@nara.gov
Web site: www.jimmycarterlibrary.org

[Image of Carter Library]

Presidency: 1977-81
Dedication Date: October 1986

Ronald Reagan Library
40 Presidential Drive
Simi Valley, CA 93065-0699
Telephone: 800-410-8354
Fax: 805-522-9621
Email: reagan.library@nara.gov
Web site: www.reagan.utexas.edu

[Image of Reagan Library]

Presidency: 1981-89
Dedication Date: November 1991

George Bush Library
1000 George Bush Drive West
College Station, TX 77845
Telephone: 979-260-9554
Fax: 979-260-9557
Email: bush.library@nara.gov
Web site: bushlibrary.tamu.edu

[Image of the George Bush Library]

Presidency: 1989-93
Dedication Date: November 1997

Office of Presidential Libraries
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2200
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone: 301-837-3250
Fax: 301-837-3199

Presidential Materials Staff
National Archives and Records Administration
700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room 104
Washington, DC 20408-0001
Telephone: 202-501-5700
Fax: 202-501-5709

Nixon Presidential Materials Staff
National Archives at College Park
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone: 301-837-3290
Fax: 301-837-3202
Email: nixon@nara.gov
Web site: www.archives.gov/nixon

William J. Clinton Presidential Materials Staff
1000 LaHarpe Boulevard
Little Rock, AR 72201
Telephone: 501-244-9756
Fax: 501-244-9764
Email: clinton.library@nara.gov
Web site: clinton.archives.gov

National Archives and Records Administration
General Information Leaflet Number 64
Revised 2002