Federal Presidential Libraries

95-389 GOV

Federal Presidential Libraries

Harold Relyea

Specialist in American National Government

Government Division

B

March 14, 1995

CRS

FEDERAL PRESIDENTIAL LIB

S

SUMMARY

Through the National Archives and Records Administration, the Federal

Government currently operates and maintains nine presidential libraries, and

will soon assume responsibility for a tenth facility. Inaugurated with the

Presidential Libraries Act of 1955, these entities are privately constructed on

behalf of a former President of the United States and, upon completion, are

deeded to the Federal Government. Deposited within these edifices are papers,

records, memorabilia, and artifacts of the former President, his family, and,

oftentimes, his political associates. These materials are made accessible to the

public in accordance with prevailing law concerning custody, national security,

personal privacy, and other similar restrictions. Federal presidential libraries

have been established for Herbert Hoover and each succeeding Chief Executive

except Richard Nixon. A Nixon library and museum was built and dedicated,

but the facility is privately operated. The George Bush presidential library is

under construction and plans call for it to be subsequently deeded to the Federal

Government.

Since the enactment of the 1955 statute authorizing the creation of

presidential libraries: at least two additional laws have further modified

arrangements concerning these facilities. The Presidential Records Act of 1978

carefully defined "presidential records" and specified that all such materials

created on or after January 20, 1981, were governed by its provisions. It

effectively made presidential records Federal property which was to remain

under the custody and control of the Archivist of the United States when each

incumbent President left office. More recently, Congress enacted the

Presidential Libraries Act of 1986, which set certain reporting requirements,

architectural and design conditions, and fiscal limitations regarding presidential

libraries, includingrequiring an operating endowment. However, portions of the

endowment requirement pertaining to new presidential libraries or archival

depositories were specifically made applicable "to any President who takes the

oath of office as President for the first time on or after January 20, 1985." A

George Bush presidential library will be the first such facility to be subject to

all of these recent reform requirements.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

................................. 1

Table 1. Library of Congress Major

Purchases of Presidential Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

THE FEDERAL PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

THE POLICY STRUCTURE

.................................... 5

THE LIBRARY SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

COST CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

TABLE 2 . Cost of Presidential Libraries and

Former Presidents to U.S. Taxpayers. 1955-1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

TABLE 3 . Program Costs for Presidential

Libraries FY1985-FYI996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19

TABLE 4 . Operating Costs for Presidential

Libraries FY1985-FYI996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TABLE 5 . Total Costs for Presidential

Libraries FY1985-1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

DOCUMENTS

23

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

APPENDM: Institutions Holding Collections

Comprising 100 or More Presidential Papers

FEDERAL PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES

The Federal Government currently operates and maintains nine

presidential libraries, and will soon assume responsibility for a tenth facility.

The first such entity was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in

1939. The system of subsequent libraries was inaugurated with the Presidential

Libraries Act of 1955. These facilities are privately constructed on behalf of a

former President of the United States and, upon completion, are deeded to the

Federal Government. Deposited within these edifices are papers, records,

memorabilia, and artifacts of the former President, his family, and, oftentimes,

his political associates. These materials are made accessible to the public in

accordance with prevailing law concerning custody, national security, personal

privacy, and other similar restrictions. In subsequent years, other statutes-the

Presidential Records Act of 1978 and the Presidential Libraries Act of

1986-have further modified arrangements concerning these facilities.

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

Although the government of the United States is based upon a written

Constitution and laws, the management and preservation of the public records

of the Nation was generally neglected during the first century and a half of the

existence of the Republic.' Inattentiveness to the maintenance of official papers

prevailed within both the infant bureaucracy and the White House. While the

Secretary of State bore the responsibility for retaining copies of the most

important government documents, lesser papers, without immediate

administrative significance, disappeared in a clutter: disintegrated, became

otherwise lost, or were destroyed by design.

Within this atmosphere, departing Presidents had little choice with regard

to the disposition of their records: there was no national archive to receive such

papers and, for reasons of etiquette, or politics, or both, there was reluctance to

leave them behind. Thus, the early Chief Executives carried away their

documents of office: entrusting them to their family, estate executors, and often

to fate. After years and decades of the perils of private ownership, many

collections of presidential records came to be established within the libraries of

State and private universities, State historical societies, and the Library of

Congres~.~

However, time le51ed a price on some caches of such documents

before they came to rest in friendly institutions.

See H. G. Jon-.

The Records o f A Netion. New York, Atheneum, 1969, pp. 3-23.

See the appendix to this report indicating institutions holding collections comprising 100 or

more presidential papers.

The Library of Congress has possession of approximately 95 percent of

President George Washington's papers, purchased from his heirs in 1834 and

1849 at a total cost of $45,000. Some 23;600 Thomas Jefferson documents were

purchased by the Library in 1848. They were not the full collection available

a t that time though. "Fully half of the original papers were returned to the

estate after this transaction was completed, as of too 'personal' a nature for

government acquisition. They were ultimately dispersed by the heirs to friends,

relatives and collector^."^

In three separate purchases totaling $65,000, the Library of Congress

acquired 10,000 items from James Madison's presidency. Of the 4,200

documents from the James Monroe collection held by the Library, the bulk of

them was acquired in 1849 for $20,000. The Andrew Jackson collection at the

Library consists of approximately 20,000 items, certain of which were donated

in 1903, but most were purchased in 1911 and 1932 for a total of $18,000.

Jackson's legal and militia papers were destroyed, however, when the

Hermitage, the family home, burned in 1834.

Table 1. Library of Congress

Major Purchases of Presidential Papers4

President

Purchased

Amount

Washington

Jefferson

Madison

Monroe

Jackson

Tyler

Polk

A. Johnson

In various ways, fire has been the chief destroyer of retired presidential

documents. President Martin Van Buren carefully selected papers from his

administration and is thought to have burned the rest, leaving less than 7,000

items. Fewer than 1,000 of William Henry Harrison's papers have survived,

many of them being destroyed in 1858 when his home in North Bend, Ohio, was

consumed by flames. While the Library of Congress has 800 items from the

John Tyler presidency, purchased in 1919 for $1,000, a large part of the original

collection was destroyed in the burning of Richmond in 1865. Documents of

David Dernarest Lloyd. Presidential Papers and Presidential Libraries. Manrscripfs, v. 8,

Fall, 1955, p. 10.

Drawn from Ibid., pp. 9-15. Additional material supplied by the

Manuscript Di~esionof the Library of Congress.

President Zachary Taylor not already scattered by descendants were also burned

during the Civil War when the family plantation was put to the torch.

Peculiarities surround the papers of some Presidents. After leaving office,

President Ulysses S. Grant reportedly returned certain of the letters he had

received from political friends and associates to their writers. Most of Chester

A. Arthur's papers "disappeared." The documents of Warren G. Harding's

presidency vanished for a time and were thought to have been destroyed by his

widow. Some were acquired by the Library of Congress, but a quantity of them

then turned up in Marion, Ohio: where certain materials remain under seal, the

most sensitive items to be released in 2014.

For over a century and a half, the papers of the President were regarded

a s his personal property to be taken with him when he left office. However, as

the Federal establishment began to grow, questions arose as to the propriety and

wisdom of this practice. By the turn of the century, historians had become

alarmed that papers were accidently destroyed, lost, and sometimes only

selectively released for scrutiny. Archivists lamented omissions in the national

governmental record which the situation created. Not only might entire files be

carried from the White House, but presidential correspondence might be

retrieved from departmental files. As it applied to government records, the

concept of presidential papers knew no bounds. This aspect of the practice

became particularly acute in the aftermath of the creation of the Executive

Office of the President in 1939. Franklin D. Roosevelt established a panoply of

emergency and wartime agencies within this domain, all of which served the

President in immediate and direct capacities and all of which, therefore, could

be considered producers of "presidential papers." The potential loss of the

documentary materials of these entities, however, presented both a records

management problem and an administrative continuity difficulty.5

THE FEDERAL PRESIDENTIAL L I B M Y

Addressing this situation, Franklin Roosevelt sought to return presidential

papers to the public realm through a new type of institution-the presidential

library. When F.D.R. advanced this concept in 1938, two prototype libraries

were already in existence. In 1914, the State of Ohio completed the Rutherford

B. Hayes Memorial Library in Fremont, Ohio. Built in fulfillment of obligations

to receive the former Chief Executive's papers and memorabilia, the library

memorial,

contains 67,425 items and 293 volumes of historical material."he

which also houses certain local and regional historical papers apart from those

The bulk of the records of the temporary Executive Office agencies are, in fact, divided

between the Franklin D. Roosevelt presidentiallibrary at Hyde Park, New York, and the National

Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D. C.

David Demarest Lloyd. Presidential Papers and Presidential Libraries, p. 13.

of President Hayes, continues to be maintained jointly by the State of Ohio and

the Rutherford B. Hayes-Lucy Webb Hayes F ~ u n d a t i o n . ~

Roosevelt's immediate predecessor, Herbert Hoover, placed his presidential

papers in the Hoover Library of War; Revolution, and Peace, located on the

Stanford University campus. In 1919, Hoover had pledged $50,000 to the

university to establish an institution which would serve as a repository of

largely original documents deriving from European propaganda and

pamphleteering activities of World War I.8 Built at a cost of $600,000 for the

basic archival building, the resulting entity was later renamed the Hoover

Institution on War: Revolution, and P e a ~ e .Today?

~

it is no longer attached to

Stanford University, but maintains itself through donations and as a contract

research organization. It continues to hold papers evolvingfrom Hoover's public

service since 1914. Certain of the presidential papers, however, were transferred

to the Herbert Hoover presidential library at West Branch, Iowa, when that

facility was completed and turned over to the Archivist of the United States in

1964.

Franklin Roosevelt built upon these models and developed the concept of

a publicly maintained presidential library. The idea apparently germinated in

the President's thinking in 193'7. By December of 1938, he had organized an

executive committee on the project and had recruited Waldo Gifford Leland: a

distinguished historian, leader of the archival profession, and eminent executive

secretary of the American Council of Learned Societies, to chair the panel.'0

After an initial organizational meeting and gathering with the President on

December 17: plans were made to organize a corporation to gather funds for the

private construction of the library building." The Carnegie Corporation

granted the executive committee $1,500 for its activities, and the first round of

construction pledges totaled $450,000.'2

See Thomas A. Snlith. Before Hyde Park: The Rutherford B. Hayes Library. American

Archiuist, v. 43, Fall, 1980, pp. 485-488.

Paul Dickson. Think Tanks. New York, Atheneum, 1971, p. 303.

David Demarest Lloyd. Presidential Papers and Presidential Libraries, p. 15

lo See Waldo Gifford Leland. The Creation of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Libraw: A Personal

Narrative. American Archiuist, v. 18, January, 1955, pp. 11-29. Also see Donald R. McCoy. The

Beginnings of the Franklin D. Roozevelt Library. Pmlogrn, v. 7, Fall, 1975, pp. 137-160.

" Members of the executive committee chaired by Leland included Randolph G. Adams,

Librarian of the lVi1liam L. Clements Library of the University of Michigan; Charles E . Clark,

recent dean of the Yale University Law School who had just been named to a Federal appeals

court judgeship; Robert D. W. Connor, Archivist of the United States; Helen Taft Manning, dean

of Btyn Mawr College; Samuel Eliot Morison, professor of history a t Harvard Univei-siiy; and

Stuart A. Rice, chairman of the Central Statistical Board.

l2 Waldo Gifford Leland. The Creation of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library: A Personal

Narrative, pp. 15-16.

The declared purposes of the library construction corporation were to

construct and equip a building or buildings on the grounds of the Roosevelt

family home at Hyde Park, New York, or elsewhere, either for the corporation

or for the United States. This facility was to house and preserve such historical

materials as Franklin Roosevelt might give, bequeath, or transfer to the

corporation or to the United States, as well as any other acceptable historical

materials. The corporation was to provide for the custody and maintenance of

such buildings and historical materials, making the latter available to students,

scholars, historians, teachers, and others until ownership and control should be

taken over by the United States. It had power to solicit, accept, borrow, invest,

and expend money, and to transfer property to the United States; provided that

adequate legislation was enacted for the acceptance of such property and for its

permanent care and maintenance.13

Chartering legislation for the Roosevelt presidential library was enacted in

1939.14 The Archivist of the United States, acting on behalf of the Federal

Government, accepted the completed library edifice on July 4, 1940. The

museum portion of the facility was opened to the public approximately a year

later; library materials were available for research use by the public in the

spring of 1946.

THE POLICY STRUCTURE

The efforts of Franklin Roosevelt to create a presidential library were both

ad hoc and specific. Nonetheless, Harry Truman was no less attentive to history

and the preservation of his presidential records. In the aftermath of his 1948

election, Truman saw the 1950 creation of a Missouri corporation to establish

a presidential library on his behalf, following the F.D.R. model.15 Furthermore,

in an unpublished January 17, 1953, letter to the Administrator of General

Services (who had succeeded the Archivist of the United States as the official

recipient of publicly donated presidential records and archival facilities), Truman

proposed to offer his White House papers for deposit in the national archival

system pursuant to somewhat awkward authority of the Federal Records Act or

under future legislation in the event that the proposed library was accepted by

the Federal Government.'"

While the Truman library corporation was endeavoring to raise funds for

the construction of an archival edifice; Congress enacted the Presidential

l3 Md., pp. 17-18

l4 53 Stat. 1062

l5 Background information on the establishment of the Truman presidential library was

provided by the National Archives and Records Administration. Also see David D. Lloyd. The

Harry S. Truman Library. American Archiuist, v. 18, April, 1955, pp. 107-110; Philip C. Brooks.

The Harry S. Truman Library-Plans and Reality. American Archivist, v. 25, January. 1962. pp.

25-37.

l6 See Section 507(e), 64 Stat. 583, 588

Libraries Act of 1955. Truman's successor; Dwight D. Eisenhower, approved the

legislation-an amendment to the Federal Property and Administrative Sewices

Act of 1949-in August." This law provided the statutory basis for all

subsequent Federal presidential libraries.

Under the terms of the new Presidential Libraries Act, a former President

was understood to have complete control over his official records, even to the

point of his defining what constituted "presidential papers." These materials

could be taken by the Chief Executive when he departed office. The Presidential

Libraries Act established arrangements whereby a former President could: after

privately constructing a depository edifice: deed both the building and such

papers as he wished to house within it to the Federal Government. In accepting

this property-buildings, land, records, and papers, and perhaps artifacts-the

government agreed to abide by the terms of the deed or contract of bequest,

which often meant that temporal restrictions were set on the public availability

It was also understood that security

of some presidential materials.

classification and other limited common law restrictions, such as personal

privacy, would be honored as we11.18

Pursuant to this authority, Federal presidential libraries were subsequently

created for former Presidents Harry S. Truman, Herbert C. Hoover, Dwight D.

Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Gerald R. Ford, and Jimmy

Carter. However, new laws began to emerge, changing the arrangements Tor

future presidential libraries.

First, as a consequence of the Watergate incident and related matters, the

official papers and records of President Richard Nixon were placed under

Federal custody by the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act

of 1974.'' The statute requires that these materials remain in Washington, D.

C.! where they are maintained under the supervision of the Archivist of the

United States. Thus, Nixon neither could take his presidential records and

documents with him when he left office, nor could he place them in a

presidential library outside of the Nation's capital.

This 1974 statute also created the temporary National Study Commission

on Records and Documents of Federal official^.^^ The task of this panel was

"to study problems and questions with respect to the control, disposition, and

preservation of records and documents produced by or on behalf of Federal

officials: with a view toward the development of appropriate legislative

recommendations and other recommendations regarding appropriate rules and

procedures with respect to such control, disposition, and preservation."

l7 69 Stat. 695; 44 U.S.C. 2101, 2107-2108 11976).

l8 See William J. Stewart. Opening Closed Material in the Roosevelt Libraty. Prologue, v. 7,

Winter, 1975, pp. 239-241.

'' 88 Stat. 1695

Consisting of 17 members? the commission was chaired by former Attorney

General Herbert Brownell." Its final report was issued in March of 1977."

Responding partly to some of the commission's recommendations,

legislation to establish the future public ownership of presidential records and

procedures governing the preservation and public availability of such materials

at the end of each Chief Executive's tenure was introduced in the House early

in 1978. It was subsequently given congressional approval and was signed into

law in November as the Presidential Records Act." The statute carefully

defined "presidential records," and specified that all such materials created on or

after January 20, 1981, were subject to its provisions. The new law effectively

made presidential records Federal property which was to remain under the

custody and control of the Archivist of the United States when each incumbent

President left the White House. Jimmy Carter was the last occupant of the Oval

Office who could freely take away his records and papers.

At about this same time, there was a growing sentiment in Congress that

would eventually result in another reform of Federal presidential library law.

Concern about the increasing cost of providing benefits to the Nation's former

Presidents was beginning to build, legislatively manifesting itself initially in

March, 1980, in proposals to adjust the Federal largess bestowed upon former

Presidents and their fa mi lie^.'^ Federal presidential libraries-particularly

" In addition to Brownell, the other members of the panel included Lucius D. Battle; Senior

Vice President of the Communications Satellire Corporation; Philip W. Buchen, former U'hite

House Counsel to President Ford; Ann Morgan Campbell, Executive Director of the Society of

American Archivists; David 0. Cooke. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Administration;

Allen Ertel, Member of the House of Representatives; Frank B. Freidel, Jr., Harvard University

Professor of History; Elizabeth Hamer Kegan, Assistant Librarian of Congress for Anlerican and

Libraw Studies; Robert J. Lagomarsino, Member of the House of Representatives; William E.

Leucbtenberg, Columbia University Professor of History; J. Edward Lumbard, Jr., Senior Judge

of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; Edward Mezvinsky, Member of the House

of Representatives; Gaylord Nelson, U n i ~ dStates Senator; James B. Rhoads, Archivist of the

United States; John M. Thomas_ Assistant Secretary of State for Administration; Michael M.

Uhlmann, former Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs; and Lowell P. Weicker, J r . ,

United States Senator.

22 U. S. National Study Commission on Records and Documents of Federal Officials. Final

Report of the Xational Study Commission on Records a n d Documents of Federal Oflcials.

Washington, March 31, 1977. This document also contains a n alternate report of minority

mcmbcrs of rhc con~n~~;?ion

.\Is0 see Anna Kasten S e l ~ o n The Publlc Documents Comm~sjlon

Politics and Prcsidcnt~dlZcsords Go>:ernmznr P ~ h l t c n r ~ o nNcrteu..

s

v . 9. Seoren~ber.Ocrober.

1982, pp. 443451

23 92 Stat. 2523; 44 U.S.C. 2201-2207 (1982)

24 See U. S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. Federal Benefits to Former

Presidents and Their Widows. Report No. 85-173 GOV, by Stephanie Smith. Washington, August

19, 1985; U. S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Former Presidents

Facilities and Senices Reform Act of 1986. S. Rept. 99-349, 99th Congress, 2d session.

Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off, 1986, pp. 8-9.

their physical size and continued maintenance-were among the perquisites seen

to be contributing to the burden of the taxpayers.25

During the 99th Congress, the House and the Senate moved legislation

addressing this single area of expense involving former Presidents. The

Presidential Libraries Act of 1986 set certain reporting requirements,

architectural and design conditions, and fiscal limitations regarding future

presidential libraries; including requiring an operating end~wment.~"or

example, prior to accepting any gift of land, a facility, or equipment to create a

Federal presidential library or making any physical or material change in an

existing one, the Archivist must submit a written report to Congress providing

certain details: as specified in the statute, about the transaction. However,

portions of the endowment requirement for new Federal presidential libraries

were specifically made applicable "to any President who takes the oath of office

as President for the first time on or after January 20, 1985."2'

The George Bush presidential library will be the first such facility to be

subject to all of these recent reform requirements. In brief, as the President

nears the completion of his tenure, a private development corporation may be

chartered under State law to generate funding for the construction of an

archival facility that will function as a presidential library. This edifice must

meet architectural and design standards prescribed by the Archivist of the

United States pursuant to the Presidential Libraries Act of 1986. The structure

will probably be located at or near the former President's birthplace, family

home, or alma mater. The former President will not, however, have official Oval

Office records to present with the edifice at the time of deeding it over to the

Federal Government. These materials, under the control of the Archivist, will

be deposited at the facility after the government takes possession of it. Finally,

the development corporation will also have to provide an adequate maintenance

endowment with the archival edifice in order that the Archivist may make

acceptance.

THE LIBRARY SYSTEM

Through the National Archives and Records Administration, the Federal

Government currently operates and maintains eight presidential libraries, and

will soon assume responsibility for a ninth such facility. Federal experience

with the first four presidential libraries-Roosevelt, Truman, Hoover; and

Eisenhower-established two patterns: the facility was located at what was

considered to be the particular former President's hometown (birthplace or

25 See U. S. Congress. House. Committee on Government Operations. Presidential Libraries:

Unexplored Funding Altematiues. H. Rept. 97-732, 97th Congress, 2d session. Washington, U. S.

Govt. Print. Off., 1982.

26 100 Stat. 495; 44 U.S.C. 2101, 2112 (1988)

27 100 Stat. 498 (emphasis added)

principal residence) and the library building(s), grounds, and holdings were

deeded to the Federal Government.

Change in or exception to this practice occurred with the Lyndon Baines

Johnson presidential library, which was located on the campus of the University

of Texas at Austin. Because the University could not legally deed its land to the

Federal Government, another provision of the Presidential Libraries Act was

relied upon to effect Federal supervision of the facility. Rather than taking title

to the presidential archival facility, the Archivist relied upon his authority to

"make agreements, upon terms and conditions he considers proper: with a State,

political subdivision, university, institution of higher learning, institute, or

foundation to use as a Presidential archival depository land, buildings, and

equipment of the State, subdivision, university, or other organization, to be

made available by it without transfer of title to the United States, and maintain,

operate, and protect the depository as a part of the national archives

Pursuant to this authority, a n agreement or memorandum of understanding was

executed regarding the Federal supervision of the Johnson presidential library.

This innovation was repeated in the case of the Gerald R. Ford presidential

library because its location on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of

Michigan once again raised the land deed barrier. A separate Ford museum is

located in the former President's hometown of Grand Rapids; Michigan, but it

is not a Federal presidential library.

Both the John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jimmy Carter presidential libraries:

however, while deeded to the Federal Government, are located in major cities in

close proximity to respective presidential hometowns. The planned Ronald

Reagan presidential library appears to follow this model. Each of the

presidential libraries is briefly profiled below.29

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (Hyde Park, New York).

The oldest of the Federal presidential libraries, the Roosevelt facility

was individually chartered by Congress in 1939. Shortly after this

legislation was signed into law; the President and Mrs. Roosevelt

deeded approximately 16 acres of their family estate to the Federal

Government as a site for the archival edifice. The building design was

F.D.R.'s own; the cornerstone was laid on November 19, 1939; and the

completed structure was accepted by the Archivist of the United States

on July 4,1940. The museum portion of the library was opened to the

public on June 30, 1941, and materials were made available for

research by the public on May 1; 1946.

Wings were added to the original archival edifice in memory of

Mrs. Roosevelt in 1972. The Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation,

a private group chartered by Congress, contributed half of the

2a See 44 U.S.C. 2112la) (1982); 44 U.S.C 2112(a)ll)(B)li~

(1988)

29 Profile information was largely provided by the National Archives and Records

Administration.

construction funds for the expansion."

money for the other half of the cost.

Congress appropriated

The Harry S. Truman Library (Independence, Missouri).

A library construction corporation was chartered under the laws of

Missouri on July 14, 1950. Just before he left office, President

Truman, in a January 17,1953, letter to the Administrator of General

Services, indicated his intention to donate his presidential records to

the National Archives.

Subsequently, Congress enacted the

Presidential Libraries Act of 1955, which opened the way for a joint

gift of an archival edifice and presidential materials. The construction

corporation collected funds from 1950 to 1957, and the library building

was completed in September, 1957. The city of Independence donated

13.5 acres for a site; and related road improvements were made by the

Missouri Highway Department. The construction corporation deeded

the entire facility to the Federal Government on June 10, 1957. The

Truman Library was dedicated and accepted on July 6, 1957.

The Herbert Hoover Library (M7estBranch, Iowa). In 1954,

a foundation was incorporated in Iowa to preserve former President

Hoover's birthplace, promote the principles for which he stood, and

preserve certain of his memorabilia. It cooperated with the Hoover

Birthplace Society, a local citizens group which had opened the Hoover

home to the public and acquired land in the vicinity of the cottage.

The two groups merged in the late 1950s and began efforts at

financing the construction of a library-museum on the birthplace site.

Development funds were appropriated at times by the Iowa legislature.

The uncompleted facility was offered to the Federal Government on

December 5,1960. The library was subsequently dedicated on August

10, 1962, and was deeded to the United States exactly two years later.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library (Abilene, Kansas).

During the closing months of World War II, the Eisenhower

Foundation was granted a non-profit corporation charter by the State

of Kansas on July 23, 1945. While its original purpose was to honor

war veterans, the foundation came to focus increasingly on publicly

recognizing and memorializing the achievements of General

Eisenhower. An important step in this regard occurred in 1946 when

the Eisenhower brothers, after the death of their mother, deeded the

family home in Abilene, Kansas, to the foundation to be operated and

preserved for the benefit of the public. Assuming this responsibility,

the foundation opened the home for public visitation in June of 1947.

Next, General Eisenhower made the foundation the recipient of his

military mementoes and awards.

Soon, the foundation began

constructing a museum for these memorabilia at the family home site.

This facility was completed and dedicated on November 11: 1954.

During Eisenhower's first presidential term, the foundation began

30 See 77 Stat. 8.

planning to build a presidential library a t the home site. The State of

Kansas assisted the effort with acquisition and landscaping of a library

site, supervising the design and construction of the archival edifice,

and an appropriation of over $2 million. The presidential library was

dedicated and accepted by the Federal Government on May 1: 1962.

Four years later, the foundation deeded both the museum and family

home to the United States, creating the Eisenhower Center.

The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library (Boston,

Massachusetts). Eight months after his inauguration, President

Kennedy, in a September 20,1961, letter to the Archivist of the United

States, indicated his initial interest in establishing his presidential

library. Plans sufficiently progressed that, prior to his death, Kennedy

had actually viewed and given preliminary approval to a possible site

for an archival edifice. A development corporation for the facility was

chartered in Massachusetts on December 5,1963. President Kennedy's

heirs formally donated his official papers and other artifacts to the

United States by a deed of gift accepted by the Administrator of

General Services on February 25, 1965.

Subsequently, the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts authorized the Massachusetts Bay

Transportation Authority to convey a certain portion of land to the

United States for the site of the Kennedy library, and pledged to pay

a reimbursement for this property. Federal law, approved August 27,

1966, authorized the Administrator of General Services to accept the

offered 10-acre site in Cambridge, located near Harvard Yard.31 The

transfer occurred with a deed of February 15, 1968. However;

controversy developed concerning the environmental impact of the

facility on Cambridge. Eventually, special legislation authorized the

return of the land to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1976.32

That same year, the Commonwealth authorized the University of

Massachusetts to convey 12.5 acres of its Boston campus property,

located on Columbia Point, to the Federal Government for the

Kennedy library site. Federal law adopted in 1977 authorized

acceptance of this land.33 Construction of the archival edifice was

undertaken, and the completed facility was deeded to the United

States. The library was formally dedicated and opened to the public

on October 20, 1979.34

31 See 80 Stat. 370

32 See 90 Stat. 589

33 See 91 Stat. 174

34 See Dan H. Fenn. Launching the John F. Kennedy Library. American Archiuist, v. 42,

October, 1979, pp. 429-442; U. S. Congress. House. Committee on Government Operations. John

Fitzgerdd Kennedy Presidential Library. Hearing, 95th Congress, l s t session. April 28, 1977.

Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 1977; U. S. Congress. House. Committee on Government

Operations. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library. H. Rept. 95-273, 95th Congress, 1st

session. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 1977.

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library (Austin, Texas).

President Johnson, in a August 13, 1965, letter to the Administrator

of General Services, offered his presidential and other papers as a gift

to the United States. This offer was accepted by the Administrator on

August 17. Subsequently, on September 6: 1965, legislation was

approved authorizing the Administrator to enter into an agreement

with the University of Texas to use as a presidential archival facility

certain land, buildings, and equipment of the University to be made

available by it without transfer of title to the Federal Government.

The depository was to be maintained, operated, and protected as part

of the national archival system.35 The Administrator and the

University of Texas entered into an agreement on October 8, 1965,

pursuant to this authority. Because the University provided the 14acre site for the library and constructed the edifice, no private

foundation or corporation was formed to solicit funds for the

depository. The building was dedicated on May 22, 1971-the first

presidential library to be situated on a university campus. The

University of Texas retained title to the building, but dedicated it to

the United States in perpetuity.

The Richard M. Nixon Library (Yorba Linda, California).

The privately constructed and operated Nixon archival facility is not

a. Federal presidential library. Richard Nixon resigned the presidency

on August 9,1974, shortly after the House Committee on the Judiciary

approved three articles of impeachment. He left the White House

immediately and was automatically succeeded by Vice President Gerald

Ford. A month later, on September 8: 1974, President Ford announced

a full and unconditional pardon of Kixon. That same day, a few hours

later, presidential counsel Philip Buchen disclosed an agreement

between Nixon and the Administrator of General Services regarding

the disposition of some 42 million documents and materials of the

Nixon presidency. In the agreement, Nixon asserted that he retained

"all legal and equitable title to the materials, including all literary

property rights." Supporting this position; a September 6, 1974, legal

opinion prepared by Attorney General William Saxbe took the position

that such documents and materials were the private property of Nixon.

The agreement provided for the transfer of the Nixon presidential

records to a temporary Federal archival facility in California where

they would be held for three years until a presidential library was

completed for their deposit. Storage costs during this period were to

be borne by the Federal Government. Access to the material, however,

was to be solely and absolutely controlled by former President Kixon,

who also retained broad discretionary power over what records and

tape recordings might be donated to the United States, retained by

him, or destroyed. Furthermore, even those tapes donated to the

United States were: according to the agreement, to be destroyed at the

time of Nixon's death or on September 1, 1984, depending upon

whichever event occurred first.

This agreement was met with widespread congressional

objection.36 Overriding legislation was enacted in December of

1974.37 The Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act

gave the Federal Government custody over the Nixon presidential

records, documents, and tape recordings. These materials were to

remain in Washington, D. C.: for use in on-going court proceedings by

the Federal Government. The Administrator of General Services was

made responsible for managing the materials, including their

preservation, security, and organization, and for preparingregulations

regarding public access to them. These materials continue to remain

in Federal custody in the Nation's capital.

Although former President Nixon did not have possession of or

control over his presidential records: documents, and tapes, planning

proceeded for a library in his honor. The formation of a foundation

for this purpose had been announced by the Nixon White House on

May 12, 1969.38 Difficulties ensued, however, over a location for the

library, and various sites were pursued-Whittier

College, San

Clemente: and Duke University, among other locales. In 1987,

agreement was reached on the Nixon birthplace-Yorba

Linda,

California-for the archival facility.39 Reportedly costing $21 million,

the Nixon library complex was dedicated on July 19, 1990.40 The

research collection includes Nixon's congressional and vice presidential

records and a small collection of copies of his presidential papers.41

The Gerald R. Ford Library (Ann Arbor, Michigan). The

University of Michigan had sought Gerald Ford's congressional and

vice presidential papers before he succeeded to the presidency in

August of 1974. A deed of gift for these records and his presidential

86 See U. S. Congress. House. Committee on House Administration. The "Public Documents

Act." Hearings, 93rd Congress, 2d session. September 30 and October 4, 1974. Washington, U.

S. Govt. Print. Off., 1974; U. S. Congress. House. Committee on House Administration.

Presidential Recordings a n d Materials Preservation Act. H. Rept. 93-1507, 93rd Congress, 2d

session. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 1974; U. S. Congress. Senate. Committee on

Government Operations. Presemation, Protection, a n d Public Access With Respect to Certain Tape

Recordings and Other Materials. S. Rept. 93-1181, 93rd Congress, 2d session. Washington, U. S.

Govt. Print. Off., 1974.

37 88 Stat. 1695.

Ss See Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, v. 25, May 23, 1969, p. 828.

39 Mariann Hansen. Nixon Presidential Library to Be Built in Yorba Linda. Los Angeles

Times, November 7, 1987, pp. 1, 33.

40 Leon Whiteson. Nixon Library Hits Close to Home. Los Angeles Times, July 19, 1990, pp.

E l , E6; R. W. Apple, Jr. Winner and Loser, Nixon Comes Back. New York Times, July 20, 1990,

pp. Al, A10; Ann Devroy. Nixon Library Dedicated as 3 GOP Presidents Praise "Architect of

Peace." Washington Post, July 20, 1990, p. A5.

41 Attorneys for the former President continue to contest National Archives control of some

materials in the hope of returning them to Nixon's possession.

materials was executed by Ford with the Federal Government on

December 13; 1976. The University of Michigan subsequently provided

the land for the Ford library; the building, constructed with privately

donated funds, remains under University ownership, while its contents

are the property of the Federal Government. The facility officially

opened on April 27, 1981. Memorabilia and artifacts of the Ford

presidency are housed separately in a Ford museum located in Grand

Rapids, the former President's birthplace.

The Jimmy Carter Library (Atlanta, Georgia). In a press

conference immediately after his 1980 electoral defeat, President

Carter indicated his intentions to place his official papers and records

in "a proper library or repository somewhere," and that these materials

would "belong to the public eventually."42 That "somewhere" soon

became Atlanta, Georgia. A location for a presidential library was

announced in June of 1981, and the development corporation began

negotiations with the Georgia Department of Transportation to

purchase the site. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on October

2, 1984, and the completed facility was dedicated and opened to the

public on October 1, 1986.43 The Carter presidential papers became

initially accessible to researchers and scholars on January 28, 1987.44

The Ronald Reagan Library (Simi Valley, California).

Plans for a Reagan presidential library were unveiled in January of

1987, with the site to be on the Stanford University c a m p u ~ . ~A' few

months later, however, objection from the Stanford faculty prompted

reconsideration of the location of the facility.46 The new site,

according to development corporation plans submitted by the Archivist

42 Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Jimmy Carter, 1980-81. Vol. 3.

Washington, U. SD. Govt. Print. Off., 1982, p. 2689.

43 See U. S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Carter Presidential

Library Proposal. Hearing, 98th Congrejs, 1st session. November 9, 1983. Wahington, U. S.

Govt. Print. Off., 1984; Donald B. Schewe. Establishing a Presidential Library: The Jimmy Carter

Experience. Prologue, v. 21; Summer, 1989, pp. 125-133.

44 New York Times. Scholars Begin to Delve Into Carter's Documents. Neu York Times,

January 29, 1987, p. 37; Tom Kedburn. Carter Papers Reveal Passion for Detail. Los Angeles

Times, January 29, 1987, part 1, p. 4; Umted P r e s International. Carter Presidential Papers

Opened. Washington Post, January 29, 1987, p. C13.

45 Benjamin Forgery. Reagan Library Plan Unveiled. Washington Post, January 29; 1987, p.

C3; New York Times. Model Shows Reagan Plan For a Library. New York Times, January 31,

1987, p. 7.

46 Cheryl Sullivan. Stanford U. Faculty Wants Say In Plans. Christian Science Monitor,

March 27, 1987, pp. 3, 4; William Trombley. Southland, Not Stanford, to Get Reagan Library.

Los Angeles Times, April 24, 1987, part 1, pp. 1, 31; David Hoffman. Reagan Library Group

Seeks New Site. Washington Post, April 24, 1987, p. A3; Robert Lindsey. Proposal for Reagan

Library on the Campus at Stanford Is Dropped. New York Times, ApriI25, 1987, p. 10; Charlotte

Saikowski. After Quitting Stanford, Reagan Library Seeks Site in L.A. Area. Christian Science

Monitor, May 6, 1987, p. 5.

of the United States to Congress in May of 1988, is "an unimproved

parcel of land containing approximately 100 acres in an

unincorporated area of Ventura County, California, located between

the cities of Simi Valley and Thousand oak^."^' A dedication and

groundbreaking ceremony for the library was held on November 21,

1988.48 The completed facility was opened to the public on November

4,1991. Pursuant to the Presidential Records Act of 1978, the Reagan

presidential papers and documentary materials have remained under

the custody and control of the Archivist since the conclusion of

President Reagan's tenure of office.

The George Bush Library (College Station, Texas). While

at least four universities initially indicated interest in locating a

presidential library for George Bush on their campuses, Texas A&hT

University at College Station ultimately was chosen as the site.49

Groundbreaking occurred on November 30, 1994, and construction of

the $82 million complex, which will include a library, museum, and

adjacent university facilities, is expected to be completed in 1997."

The Bush presidential library will be the first such entity subject to

the endowment requirement of the Presidential Libraries Act of 1986.

COST CONSIDERATIONS

There has long been a concern in Congress about the cost of Federal

presidential librarie~.~' Recently, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich

4' Letter of May 5, 1988, from The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, signed by W-illiam

French Smith, chairman of the Board of Trustees, to Hon. Don Wilsan, Archivist of the United

States, reproduced in National Archives and Records Administration. Letter report to the

Speaker of the Houje and the President of the Senate on a proposed archival depository for the

presidential and other historical materials of the Reagan Administration. May 9, 1988.

Washington, D.C.

48 LOUCannon. Reagan Dedicates His Presidential Library. Washington Post, November 22,

1988, p. A13.

49 Kenneth F. Bunting. Texas Schools Make Pitches for Bush's Library. Fort Worth StarTelegram, April 4, 1989, section 1, pp. 11, 14;Jeff Franks. Booking Bush. Chicago Tribune, July

3, 1989, section 2, p. 1.

j0 Hugh Aynesworth. Bush Hails Oval O f f i e Hopefuls in Groundbreaking for Library.

Washington Times, December 1, 1994, p. A8.

Of related interest, debate has ensued from time to time within Congress and American

society over the decentralized organization of the Federal presidential library system and the

option of a single presidential library facility, operated by the National Archives and probably

located in the Nation's capital, to house the records, papers, and materials of office of all future

Presidents. See, for example, Houston G. Jones. Presidential Libraries: Is There a Case for a

National Presidential Library? American Archioist, v. 38, July, 1975, pp. 325-328.

suggested the presidential libraries should be privately operated." Such

archival facilities have not always been designed for economical maintenance,

incur operating expenses for staff and other resources, and have been expanded

with public funds. These issues were largely addressed by the Presidential

Libraries Act of 1986. Still, the unchecked growth of these libraries and the

prospect of their needing electronic information technology and supporting

resources to service presidential records collections in the future remain open

to debate.

Due to a caveat in the 1986 reform legislation, the Reagan presidential

library seemingly is the last such facility deeded to the Federal Government

without a required operating e n d o ~ r n e n t ."The

~ ~ Archivist," according to the

statute, "shall not accept or take title to any land, facility, or equipment . . . or

enter into any agreement to use any land; facility, or equipment . . . for the

purpose of creating a Presidential archival depository, unless the Archivist

determines that there is available, by gift or bequest for deposit . . . in an

endowment with respect to such depository, an amount for the purpose of

maintaining such land, facility, and equipment equal to" certain specified

criteria.j4 A similar requirement was set regarding the expansion of existing

Federal presidential library facilities. At the time this reform legislation was

enacted, the following congressional accounting of the cost of Federal

presidential libraries to U. S. taxpayers was produced.55

TABLE 2. Cost of Presidential Libraries and F o r m e r Presidents

t o U.S. Taxpayers, 1955-1987

1

Fiscal Y e a r

Libraries

Total*

Libraries P e r c e n t a g e

Ruth Larson. Archivists Cool to Gingrich's Plan. Washington Times, January 4 , 1995, p.

A6.

Regarding The Ronald Reagan Library, the Archivist has offered the following pertinent

comment4. "The architects have complied with the intent of the Presidential Libraries Act of

1986," he testified, "and met all the specifications that we asked for. I t is a first rate building and

satisfies the requirements of the intention of the law which I fully support. This gives the

archivist some kind of control over the kind of structure that is going to be built."

U. S. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Treasury, Postal Seruice, and

General Gooernment Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1990. Part 4. Hearings, lOlst Congress, 1st

session. Washington, U. S. G o d . Print. Off., 1989, p. 287.

j4

See 100 Stat. 497; 44 U.S.C. 2112(g)(3).

'5 Adapted from U. S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Former

Presidents Facilities and Services Reform Act of 1986, p. 8.

CRS-17

TABLE 2. Cost of Presidential Libraries and Former Presidents

to U.S. Taxpayers, 1955-1987

Libraries

Truman addition

$312,000

Total*

Libraries Percentage

$1,629,298

61

1969

$1,406,808

Hoover addition

$1,074,000

$3;261,360

76

Eisenhower addition

$1,610,000

$5,207,644

74

1972

$2,513,559

$5,088,679

67

Roosevelt addition

$882,000

1979

$7,523,783

Truman addition

$2,667,000

$18,149,365

56

1980

$10,171,000

$18,474,826

55

TABLE 2. Cost of Presidential Libraries and Former Presidents

More recent cost data concerning presidential libraries; as provided by the

National Archives and Records Administration, is provided in Tables 3-5.

Tnble 8. Nationnl Archives and Records Administration

Program Costs for Presidential Libraries

By Flscal Year ($000'~)

Library

noover

Roosevelt

Truman

Eisenhower

Source: National Archives and Records Administration.

Kennedy

Johnson

Ford

Carter

Reagan

Totals

Table 4. National Archives and Records Administration

Operating Costs for Presidential Libraries

By Fiscal Year ($OOO's)

NOTE: All figures exclude rent charges.

Source: National Archives and Records Administration

Table 5. National Archives and Recorda Administration

Total Costa for Presidential Librariee

By Fiscal Year ($000'6)

NOTE: All figures exclude rent charges.

Source: National Archives and Records Administration

CONCLUSION

The Federal presidential library system has been in existence for almost

four decades, if the 1955 program statute is used as a benchmark, longer if the

1939 establishment of the Roosevelt library is relied upon. An important

property question involving the essential resources of this program-the

ownership of presidential papers and records-was statutorily resolved in 1978,

and growing concerns about the cost of the library system were addressed to the

satisfaction of many in 1986 with Presidential Libraries Act amendments. At

present, it appears that, for the immediate future, former Presidents will, within

the operative legal framework for such institutions, continue to establish

separate library facilities at a location of their choice in the United States.

Sometime in the next century, at least for reasons of cost, alternatives to this

general arrangementsuch as the creation of a single archival facility for

presidential papers in the Nation's capital-may be pursued. Greater use of

electronic information technology in the White House, the Executive Office of

the President, and the Federal departments and agencies may result in a

consequential need for such technology in the next presidential libraries, raising

another cost consideration for the years ahead.56 Furthermore, presidential

libraries may become electronically integrated into some larger Federal

information system of the future.

"

It is known, for example, that conversations in the Oval Ofice were tape recorded during

the Nixon Administration and, during the Reagan regime, that there was interaftice computer

communication-the PROF system-in the f i l i t e House. For the Carter experience, see John

Gosden and Jon Turner. The President and Information Management. In Harold C. Relyea, ed.

The Presidency and Information Policy. Proceedings of the Center for the Study of the Presidency,

v. 4, 1981, pp. 3447. On the general subject of electronic records, see U. S . Congress. House.

Committee on Government Operations. Taking A Byte Out ofHistory: The ArchiualPresercation

of Federal Computer Records. H. Rept. 101-978, lOlst Congress, 2d session. Washington, U. S .

Govt. Print. Off., 1990.

FEDERAL PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES:

A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

ARTICLES

Aeschbacher; William D. Presidential Libraries: New Dimension in Research

Facilities. Midwest Quarterly, v. 6, Winter, 1965: 205-214.

Album, Michael J. Government Control of Richard Xixon's Presidential

Materials. Yale Law Journal, v. 87; July, 1978: 1601-1635.

Burk, Robert F. New Perspectives for Presidential Libraries. Presidential

Studies Quarterly, v. 11,Summer, 1981: 399-410.

Cappon, Lester J. Why Presidential Libraries? Yale Review, v. 68: Autumn,

1978: 11-34.

Cole, Harold R. Presidential Libraries. Journal of Librarianship, v. 4, April,

1972: 115-129.

Dollase, Richard H. Using the Presidential Libraries. Social Education, v. 48,

February, 1984: 91-98.

Drewry, Elizabeth B. The Role of Presidential Libraries. Midwest Quarterly, v.

7, Autumn, 1965: 53-65.

Freidel: Frank. Roosevelt to Reagan: The Birth and Growth of Presidential

Libraries. Prologue, v. 21, Summer, 1989: 103-113.

Geselbracht, Raymond H.; and Daniel J. Reed. The Presidential Library and the

White House Liaison Office. American Archivist, v. 46: Winter, 1983: 6972.

Gustafson, Merlin. The Presidential Libraries: Some Impressions. Manuscripts,

v. 18, November, 1974: 155-165.

Jones, Houston G. Presidential Libraries: Is There a Case for a National

Presidential Library? American Archivist, v. 38, July, 1975: 325-328.

Kirkendall, Richard S. Presidential Libraries-One Researcher's Point of View.

American Archivist, v. 25, October, 1962: 441-448.

----- A Second Look at Presidential Libraries. American Archiuist, v. 29, July,

1966: 371-386.

Lovely, Louise. The Evolution of Presidential Libraries.

Publications Review, v. 6, 1979: 27-35.

Government

McGowan, Carl. Presidents and Their Papers. Minnesota Law Review, v. 68,

December, 1983: 409-437.

Menez, Joseph F. Presidential Papers and Presidential Libraries.

Science, v. 47, Winter, 1972: 34-39.

Social

O'Neill, James E. Will Success Spoil the Presidential Libraries? American

Archivist, v. 36, July, 1973: 339-351.

DOCUMENTS

U . S . Congress. House. Committee o n Government Operations. Presidential

Libraries Funding. Hearing, 98th Congress: 2d session. February 23,1984.

Washington, U . S. Govt. Print. O f f . , 1984. 173 p.

----- Presidential Libraries Funding Proposal. Hearing, 99th Congress, 1st

session. March 26: 1985. Washington, U . S. Govt. Print. O f f . , 1985. 14 p.

----- Presidential Libraries: Unexplored Funding Alternatives. H . Rept. 97-732,

97th Congress, 2d session. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off.: 1982. 12

P.

----- Preservation and Management of Presidential Records. H. Rept. 98-856,

98th Congress, 2d session. Washington, U . S. Govt. Print. Off., 1984. 24

P.

----- Presidential Records Act of 1978. Hearings, 95th Congress, 2d session.

February 23,28 and March 2: 7,1978. Washington, U . S. Govt. Print. Off.,

1978. 896 p.

----- Presidential Records Act of 1978. H. Rept. 95-1487 Part 1, 95th Congress,

2d session. Washington, U . S. Govt. Print. O f f . ,1978. 24 p.

----- Reduction of Costs of Presidential Libraries.

H. Rept. 99-125, 99th

Congress, 1st session. Washington, U . S. Govt. Print. O f f . ,1985. 23 p.

U . S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Presidential

Library Act of 1985. S. Rept. 99-257, 99th Congress, 2d session.

Washington, U . S. Govt. Print. O f f . , 1986. 15 p.

----- T h e Presidential Records Act of 1978-S. 3494. Hearing, 95th Congress, 2d

session. September 15: 1978. Washington, U . S. Govt. Print. Off., 1979.

45 p.

U . S . Xational Archives and Records Administration. N A R A and Presidential

Records: Laws and Authorities and Their Irnplernentation. Washington,

National Archives and Records Administration, 1988. var. pag.

CRS-29

APPENDIX

Institutions Holding Collections

Comprising 100 o r More ~yesidentialPapers5'

(Excluding Federal Presidential Libraries)

President

Institution

Washington

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Henry E. Huntington Library (San Marino: Calif.)

Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Conn.)

Chicago Historical Society (Chicago, 111.)

Boston Public Library (Boston, Mass.)

William L. Clements Library (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, Minn.)

Long Island Historical Society (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

New York Historical Society (New York, N.Y.)

Pierpont Morgan Library (New York, N.Y.)

Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, Va.)

\?'illiam and Mary College (Williamsburg, Va.)

J. Adarns

Massachusetts Historical Society (Boston, Mass.)

Jefferson

Library of Congress (Washington, DL!.)

Massachusetts Historical Society (Boston, Mass.)

University of Virginia (Charlottes\dle; Va.)

Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Va.)

William and Mary College (Williamsburg, Va.)

Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, Va.)

Henry E. Huntington Library (San Marino, Calif.)

Missouri Historical Society (St. Louis, Mo.)

New York Historical Society (New York, N.Y.)

Pierpont Morgan Library (New York, N.Y.)

Madison

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.)

New York Historical Society (New York; N.Y.)

Henry E. Huntington Library (San Marino, Calif.)

New York Public Library (New York, N.Y.)

Monroe

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

New York Public Library (New York, N.Y.)

James Monroe Memorial Found. (Fredericksburg, Va.)

William and Mary College (Williamsburg, Va.)

''

Adapted from Arthur Bernon Tourtellot. The Presidents on the Presidency. Garden City,

Doubleday and Company, 1964, pp. 471485. Updating material provided by the Manumipt

Division of the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.

University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.)

J. Q. Adarns

Massachusetts Historical Society (Boston, Mass.)

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Jackson

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Tennessee State Library (Nashville, Tenn.)

Tennessee Historical Society (Nashville, Tenn.)

Chicago Historical Society (Chicago, Ill.)

New York Public Library (New York, N.Y.)

Van Buren

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

New York State Library (Albany, N.Y.)

W. H. Harrison Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Tyler

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

University of Virginia (Richmond, Va.)

William and Mary College (Williamsburg, Va.)

Pierpont Morgan Library (New York, N.Y.)

Polk

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Chicago Historical Society (Chicago, Ill.)

Taylor

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Fillmore

Buffalo Historical Society (Buffalo, N.Y.)

Pierce

New Hampshire Historical Society (Concord, N.H.)

Buchanan

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Lancaster County Historical Society (Lancaster: Pa.)

Lincoln

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Illinois State Historical Society (Springfield, Ill.)

Brown University Library (Providence, R.I.)

University of Chicago (Chicago, Ill.)

New York Public Library (New York, N.Y.)

A. Johnson

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Rutherford B. Hayes Library (Fremont, Ohio)

Grant

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Henry E. Huntington Library (San Marina, Calif.)

Rutherford B. Hayes Library (Fremont, Ohio)

Chicago Historical Society (Chicago, Ill.)

Illinois State Historical Society (Springfield: Ill.)

Hayes

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Rutherford B. Hayes Library (Fremont, Ohio)

Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)

Garfield

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Ohio Historical Society (Columbus, Ohio)

Arthur

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

New York Historical Society (New York, N.Y.)

Cleveland

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Detroit Public Library (Detroit, Mich.)

B. Harrison

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

McKinley

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, Ohio)

Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)

T. Roosevelt

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Harvard College Library (Cambridge, Mass.)

Pierpont Morgan Library (New York, N.Y.)

William L. Clements Library (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Taft

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Yale University (New Haven: Conn.)

Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.)

Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)

Ohio Historical Society (Columbus, Ohio)

Wilson

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Yale University (New Haven? Conn.)

Harvard College Library (Cambridge, Mass.)

Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.)

Columbia University (New York, N.Y.)

University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.)

Harding

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Ohio Historical Society (Columbus, Ohio)

Harding Memorial Association (Marion, Ohio)

Coolidge

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

Forbes Library (Northanpto~:Mass.)

Hoover*

(Stanford, Calif,)

F. Roosevelt*

Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace

Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)

* Materials also held in a Federal presidential library