Presidential Libraries

The State Library recently got a hardcover book of the Presidential Library of Dwight D. Eisenhower from the Federal Depository Program. This got me thinking about Presidential Libraries so I did some research.  Traditional Presidential Libraries are places that store the President’s paper and other memorabilia from being in office.  There are fourteen Presidential Libraries in the United States overseen by the Office of Presidential Libraries, in the National Archives and Records Administration.

In 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt decided to do something about the fact that many Presidential papers and records had been lost, destroyed, sold for profit, or ruined by poor storage conditions. As stated in the brief history of Presidential Archives:

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…. 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.

There are fourteen Presidential Libraries in the United States overseen by the Office of Presidential Libraries, in the National Archives and Records Administration.  Here are the fourteen libraries with links to their online resources.

• Harry S. Truman Library
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
• John F. Kennedy Library
• Lyndon B. Johnson Library
• Richard Nixon Library
• Gerald R. Ford Library
• Jimmy Carter Library
• Ronald Reagan Library
• George Bush Library 
• William J. Clinton Library
• George W. Bush Library
• Barack Obama Library

The Barack Obama Center is different because it will be completely digital and have a center but no library. The plan is for the Center to be built in a public park in South Chicago. According to the New York Times: The plans for the Center include a two-story event space, an athletic center, a recording studio, a winter garden, even a sledding hill but will not house any official presidential records.   “Instead, the Obama Foundation will pay to digitize the roughly 30 million pages of unclassified paper records from the administration so they can be made available online.”  The National Archives and record administration will oversee the housing of the paper records after they have been digitized.

Of course Massachusetts is home to John F. Kennedy Library and Museum on Columbia Point in Dorchester. The Library hosts political and historical talks called Kennedy Library Forums.  If you cannot go to a talk they often will live stream it and will post them to their website.  They have talks on The Bay of Pigs and its 50th anniversary, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her pins.

John F. Kennedy would celebrated his 100th birthday on May 26, 2017 so the library has an exhibit that started on his 100th birthday and ends November 28, 2019 called JFK 100 - Milestones & Mementos of pivotal events in his presidency and his life.

Some items permanently on exhibit include John F. Kennedy’s desk in the White House, Robert F. Kennedy’s desk, two versions of the President’s inaugural address a rough draft and final version, and materials from Kennedy’s campaign for President. 

Naomi Allen

Reference Staff