I'm helping build a Presidential Library right now

[Recursion]

The thread about where Obama's should be (to me, Chicago is the obvious choice, but it's not my call) got me wondering what the general sense about Presidential libraries is. I'm working on one that's about to open (Washington's) and it's a fascinating group of facilities.

First off: there's no Olympic committee that decides what is and isn't a Presidential library, though the National Archives have some moral sway here.

Second, their locations are often surprising. Grant's is in Starkville, MS, a town he ordered burned to the ground.

Third, the President in question having a say in them is a fairly new thing. Washington wanted to collect his papers fr future scholars, but it's 2013 and it's only happening now.

Anyways, Washington's library opens to scholars this summer, and to the public next year, at Mount Vernon. It includes a copy of the Constitution with Washington's own notes handwritten in the margins (which will be periodically on display at the main Mount Vernon museum) as well as his own personal library and papers. It will definitely be worth a view, and just remember I ran all the Ethernet cables and set up the routers.

[LeftofObama]

1. Impressive! n/t

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. A little history

http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/about/

Presidential Libraries are not libraries in the usual sense. They are archives and museums, bringing together in one place the documents and artifacts of a President and his administration and presenting them to the public for study and discussion without regard for political considerations or affiliations. Presidential Libraries and Museums, like their holdings, belong to the American people.

During his second term in office, President Franklin D. Roosevelt surveyed the vast quantities of papers and other materials he and his staff had accumulated. In the past, many Presidential papers and records had been lost, destroyed, sold for profit, or ruined by poor storage conditions. President Roosevelt sought a better alternative. On the advice of noted historians and scholars, he established a public repository to preserve the evidence of the Presidency for future generations. Beginning a tradition that continues to this day, he raised private funds for the new facility and then turned it over to the United States government for operation through the National Archives.

There are, or will be, libraries for every President from Hoover onward. Many are associated with Universities (JFK at Harvard; Carter at Emory) while some are not (Truman at Independence, MO).

Yhey are not just documents. They are also museums, and have artifacts and displays on the life of the President and his time in office. I've been to the Truman and Roosevelt libraries. My hope in the next couple of years is to see the Hoover (Iowa City) and Eisenhower (Abilene, KS) librairies in the next couple of years.

In addition to serving as museums and libraries, some Presidents (Truman, Nixon) are buried at their library sites.