Why Do Presidents Get Their Own Libraries?

The Obama Presidential Center will be completed by 2021. Obama will be the 14th President with a library managed by the government. 

But why do US Presidents get libraries?

Presidential libraries were formed to protect artifacts. FDR was the first US president to support the collections. He believed presidential papers were a vital part of US history. In 1939, FDR donated his papers to the Federal Government. The FDR Presidential Library & Museum was dedicated in 1941.  President Truman also decided to form a library. In1955, Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act (PLA). Presidents were encouraged to preserve historical materials… by privately funding a federally-managed library. It also included that the libraries would be available to the public. Hoover established the first official Presidential Library in 1962. In 1978, Congress passed the Presidential Record Act (PRA). The PRA made presidential records public property. The Presidential Library Act of 1986 requires private endowments. The money is used to offset the cost of building maintenance. The National Archives and Record Administration manages 13 presidential libraries:

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. 

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. 

Harry S Truman Library and Museum.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.

LBJ Presidential Library.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum.

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum.

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.

George Bush Presidential Library & Museum.

William J Clinton Presidential Library & Museum.

George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum.

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