Thursday, October 04, 2007

13 Presidential Libraries

I’m very fortunate to have a presidential library close to my home in Atlanta. I guess that’s one of the perks of having a president from your state. My daughter and I visited the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum a few years back when an original copy of the Declaration of Independence owned by Norman Lear was traveling around the United States. President Carter’s library sits on a piece of land that was saved from a highway construction project while Carter was Georgia’s governor.

The libraries are created to perserve and make available the papers, records, and other materials from each president’s administration. The majority of the presidential libraries are maintained by the National Archives, however funding is handled through private, non-federal sources.

Some of the presidential libraries are maintained by a particular state. The state of Illinois maintains the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum. Other libraries are maintained by private foundations.

Here are thirteen links to presidential libraries around the country and few extra thrown in for good measure:

1. The Stone Library at Adams National Historical Park

2. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

3. Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

4. The McKinley Museum

5. Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library

6. Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum

7. Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

8. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

9. Harry S Truman Presidential Museum and Library

10. Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

11. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

12. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

13. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

14. Gerald R. Ford Museum; Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library

15. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

16. George Bush Presidential Library & Museum

17. William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum

Visit other Thursday Thirteens here.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

I have to say I love the library. As a kid I would go down on the weekend and spend hours reading through all the books. I think that's why I'm a writer today. Great list!

Anonymous said...

I've never been to a presidential library. I guess this is another to add to the "things to do" list!

Yuriko said...

Very cool list... I must admit that visiting historical libraries is not on my list of things to do... but it's nice to know they are there if I need to find them :)

Anonymous said...

Have to bookmark and come back when I have time to visit those sites.

Thanks!

Lee Dixon said...

C-Span has a series on presidential libraries. I haven't been watching yet, but their series on the American Presidents a few years ago was very informative. Some of that older series was filmed at the presidential libraries and some at homes or birthplaces of the presidents.

c-span.org

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I always vowed that I'd get to the Rutherford B. Hayes library when I was in grad school nearby.

I am lousy at keeping my vows. :(

Anonymous said...

Well I've been to one of the 13 you listed. My husbands employer hosted their Christmas party at the Ronald Reagan site last fall. It really is spectacular and we were able to tour the whole facility during the evening.
Great TT idea...

k said...

i will go to any library/museum anywhere. always so fun & interesting even when i think i'll have no interest in them.

CaliforniaTeacherGuy said...

I have yet to visit a single presidential library. This post is the kick in the pants I need to get started. Thank you, EHT!

Alastriona, The Cats and Dogs said...

Thanks for the links.

We have been to the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library in Biloxi, but that is the closest one to us.

Thanks to the links and the internet we will be able to explore some of the ones further away from us.

EHT said...

That's the great thing....it doesn't matter where you live. You can visit these libraries online and see many of their permanent exhibits and read some great articles. True, it's not like being there but you can find out so many interesting things.