Presidential library

Official seal of the presidential libraries

A presidential library is a system of thirteen libraries in the United States. It is created by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

These are offices for preserving and making available the papers, records, collections and other historical materials of every president of the United States. The presidential library system began with Herbert Hoover's library (31st president, 1929–1933).

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the largest of the thirteen libraries. The most recent presidential library was the George W. Bush Presidential Center which opened in Texas in 2013.

References

• Portions of this article based on public domain text from the National Archives and Records Administration
• Hufbauer, Benjamin (2006). Presidential Temples: How Memorials and Libraries Shape Public Memory. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.