The Presidential Libraries Act and the Establishment of Presidential Libraries Page: 4 of 27
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The Presidential Libraries Act and the Establishment of Presidential Libraries
Introduction
The Presidential Libraries Act (P.L. 84-373; 69 Stat. 695),' as originally enacted in 1955, sought
to create a system of government "preservation and administration ... of papers and other
historical materials of any President or former President of the United States." Pursuant to the
law, the General Services Administration's (GSA's) Administrator could, among other actions,
accept ... the papers and other historical materials of any President or former President of the
United States, or of any other official or former official of the Government, and other papers
relating to and contemporary with any President or former President of the United States.
(P.L. 84-373)
As the presidential library system continued to grow after the 1955 act, funding and construction
issues became a policy concern. Amid the concerns about growing costs of the libraries, the act
was substantially amended in 1986 (P.L. 99-323; 100 Stat. 495) to "shift the burden of on-going
building operations costs of future libraries from the taxpayer to endowment funds ."2
Today, presidential libraries are funded through a combination of congressional appropriations
and private sources.' In general, funds for archiving and management of a President's papers are
appropriated to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), while funds raised
by private organizations support facility construction, programming, and other activities related to
a President's legacy. Under the act, the Archivist of the United States has the authority to accept
and take title to land, facilities, and equipment for a library-or to enter into an agreement with
certain public or private entities to use their land, facilities, and equipment.4 Prior to accepting
title to the property or entering into the agreement, the Archivist must submit a report to Congress
that includes, among other information, estimates of the costs and funding requirements of the
proposed library. Congress then has 60 days of continuous session to disapprove of the
acquisition or agreement. If Congress does not act, NARA may take title to the property or enter
into the agreement for use of the property, so long as the statutorily required endowment for
maintenance and similar costs contains sufficient funding.5 Congress most recently updated
funding requirements in 2008.
Through NARA, the federal government currently operates and maintains 13 presidential
libraries, and may soon assume responsibility for a new facility for the records of former
President George W. Bush. Table 1 includes all of the current NARA presidential library
facilities.
1 The act is currently codified at 44 U.S.C. 2112.
2 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Government Operations, Reduction of Costs of Presidential Libraries, to
accompany H.R. 1349, 99h Cong., 1st sess., May 15, 1985, H.IRept. 99-125 (Washington: GPO, 1985), pp. 1-2.
3~ For additional information on presidential libraries and presidential records, see CRS Report R40238, Presidential
Records: Issues for the 111th Congress, by Wendy R. Ginsberg; and CRS Report R40209, Fundraising for Presidential
Libraries: Legislative and Policy Issues in the 111th Congress, by R. Sam Garrett.
4 44 U.S.C. 2112(a).
5 44 U.S.C. 2112(g).Congressional Research Service1
1
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The Presidential Libraries Act and the Establishment of Presidential Libraries, report, December 1, 2010; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807317/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.