The recent announcement by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Barack Obama Foundation that there will be no Barack Obama Presidential Library has received very little attention or scrutiny. This essay examines that decision and places it in historical context based on the author’s expertise gained through years of working within NARA at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and writing about the early history of NARA and the presidential library system. The essay explores the many ways in which the failure to build an Obama Library adversely impacts researcher access to important historical information, damages the quality of museum exhibits at a privately run Obama museum, threatens the presidential library system as we know it, and ultimately impairs our democracy. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_2x9fY4P&d=DwIFaQ&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=b5NZPQUb9_r2rQ3Zd74ATT3aSs9yKyRnJLOhqJvd7fE&m=D8Yq97BGunrFrcgYN2OWqIUnsjmcJ3NTfvoeNE0uUuU&s=EjHZZUsLr1_voBQxkKqItsKfLps3aHTfy-2xh5pDGv0&e= https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_2x9fY4P-2B&d=DwIFaQ&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=b5NZPQUb9_r2rQ3Zd74ATT3aSs9yKyRnJLOhqJvd7fE&m=D8Yq97BGunrFrcgYN2OWqIUnsjmcJ3NTfvoeNE0uUuU&s=VZ6rd14fOMzYCa4WwTD-uBZrvzrQ5T9LhwlW26oWI2I&e= -- Peterk Dallas, Tx [log in to unmask] Save our in-boxes! https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__emailcharter.org&d=DwIFaQ&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=b5NZPQUb9_r2rQ3Zd74ATT3aSs9yKyRnJLOhqJvd7fE&m=D8Yq97BGunrFrcgYN2OWqIUnsjmcJ3NTfvoeNE0uUuU&s=Gs4vKhbXBU77x7T5yTk4bkHgZFbsJQHGJOrWv-TOt3M&e= “If only there were a massive entity that I were forced to fund to tell me how I should live my life, since I’m so obviously incapable of deciding for myself.” M. Hashimoto List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message. mailto:[log in to unmask]
