National Archives: Framework Governing Use of Presidential Library Facilities and Staff
Released: 2011-02-28T00:00:00

Letter

Background

Prior to 1940, U.S. presidents or their descendents typically retained ownership of papers documenting their terms of office. The fate of these papers was up to the former president or his descendents, and some were lost forever. In 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to arrange to have a library built using privately raised funds and to then transfer both the facility and his papers to the federal government. Through its Office of Presidential Libraries, NARA operates presidential libraries housing the papers of all subsequent presidents through George W. Bush, as well as President Roosevelt’s predecessor in the White House, Herbert Hoover. At the end of a president’s term, NARA staff begin working with the president’s official records and other materials. This work goes on during library construction and during the period between the dedication of the library facility and its transfer to the federal government. Table 1 provides facts about the 13 presidential libraries and museums operated by NARA.

For most of the libraries, as the president’s term was coming to a close or after it ended, friends and supporters of the president created a private charitable foundation to collect donations to construct a library. Under current law, NARA collaborates with each presidential library foundation on the construction of the library facility, and when the facility construction is complete, the foundation deeds or gives the right to use the library facility or a portion of the facility to NARA. The Presidential Libraries Act of 1986 also requires that the National Archives Trust Fund receive an operating endowment for each library before NARA can accept the transfer of the library. These endowments fund some of the federal government’s costs for the operation and maintenance of the presidential libraries. Figure 1 captures key steps of the current process of establishing a presidential library. Some variations from this process may exist.

Each library is operated by a director who is a NARA employee, and other library staff who are also NARA employees. The staffs typically include an administrative officer, facility manager, education and exhibits specialists, archivists, archives technicians, and clerks, among other staff. The director of a presidential library is appointed by the Archivist of the United States, the head of NARA, who consults with the former president in selecting a candidate.

The Office of Presidential Libraries is headed by the Assistant Archivist for Presidential Libraries. The Office of Presidential Libraries is responsible for overseeing the management of records at the libraries, the development of policies and procedures for the management and operation of presidential libraries, and the development and coordination of plans, programs, and resource allocations at presidential libraries. The Office of Presidential Libraries is also involved in the creation of new presidential libraries.

Funds appropriated by Congress support NARA’s staffing, administration, security, maintenance, and renovation projects at the library. In fiscal year 2009, NARA spent more than $68 million in appropriations to operate the presidential libraries. In addition, for fiscal year 2009 NARA received $41.5 million in special appropriations for repairs and restoration to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum ($22 million), the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum ($17.5 million), and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library & Museum ($2 million).

Each private foundation is operated by a director, president, or CEO and other staff that may include a chief financial officer and director of communications, among other positions. Foundation support enables the libraries to expand their research and archival functions, as well as undertake additional projects such as public outreach efforts. The foundations’ level of involvement in the activities at their associated library, such as collaboration on public and educational programs, varies from library to library. Foundations may also sponsor their own programs and activities, such as hosting a lecture series or academic discussion or producing a newsletter. NARA officials told us that, in most cases, these kinds of programs and activities are offered in conjunction with and supported by library staff. For example, a foundation may pay for a lecture series that is held in NARA-controlled space.

The foundations may also generally support their associated libraries with additional funding for new facilities and equipment and for updating permanent exhibits, adding program space, and giving the library the use of foundation staff time for library activities. Foundations provide these resources directly to their associated library. This process generally is handled at the library level based on the relationship between the library and the foundation. Each presidential library also has a trust fund that receives revenue from the sale of publications, museum shop sales, document reproductions, audio-visual reproductions, library admissions, public space rentals, educational conferences, and interest income. Trust- fund money helps the library cover the cost of museum shop inventory, personnel, operational and financial systems, equipment, and supplies. These funds may also support exhibit-related and public-programming expenses. In fiscal year 2009, the trust funds for presidential libraries had a total end-of-year balance of approximately $15 million. In addition to trust funds, presidential libraries also maintain funds from gifts donated to a library for general library support or for specific projects or programs.

Federal Laws and Regulations, NARA Policies, and Individual Library Agreements Provide Guidance on the Library–Foundation Relationship

Federal Laws Govern Library Creation

The federal laws specific to presidential libraries focus primarily on the design and construction of library facilities and, once constructed, the deeding of the library facilities, or the rights to use the facilities, to the federal government. Congress has enacted three primary statutes that provide the legal rules for the design, construction, and transfer of library facilities.

Federal Regulations Govern the Use of Library Facilities by Outside Organizations

NARA’s building-use regulations outline the permissible and prohibited uses of the presidential library facilities by other groups. According to the regulations, other groups may request the use of presidential library facilities when the activity is sponsored, cosponsored, or authorized by the library; conducted to further the library’s interests; and does not interfere with the normal operation of the library.

The regulations prohibit the use of the facilities for profit-making, commercial advertisement or sales, partisan political activities, or sectarian activities.

When NARA considers it to be in the public interest, NARA may allow for the occasional, nonofficial use of rooms and spaces in a presidential library and charge a reasonable fee for such use. Additionally, the regulations require outside organizations to apply for the use of library space by writing to the library director and submitting an Application for Use of Space in Presidential Libraries. Applying organizations must agree to review their event plans with library staff and that the plans will conform to library rules and procedures. The application also confirms that the organization will not charge admission fees, make indirect assessment fees for admission, or take collections for their events. Further, the application prohibits the organization from suggesting that the library endorses or sponsors the organization.

Federal Laws and Regulations Govern the Use of Staff

Federal laws and regulations specify for all federal employees—including federal employees working at presidential libraries—what they may and may not do in their official capacity. For example, federal employees may not engage in commercial or political activity associated with their federal positions. According to NARA’s General Counsel, there are no special laws or regulations that apply only to how library employees interact with the foundation or, if applicable, university associated with their library, but the laws and regulations that apply throughout the federal government also apply to library employees.

The Hatch Act provides the rules for the activities of library employees at events such as candidate debates or speeches by candidates that sometimes take place at the libraries. The Hatch Act, which is enforced by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), prohibits certain political activities for federal employees. At an event such as these (or at any other time) a library employee may not use official authority to interfere with an election; solicit, accept, or receive political contributions from any person; run for nomination or as a candidate for election to a partisan political office; or solicit or discourage the political activity of any person connected to the business of the employee’s office.

NARA employees must also follow the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch issued by the Office of Government Ethics. The standards emphasize that employees have a responsibility to the U.S. government and its citizens to place loyalty to the Constitution, laws, and ethical principles above private gain, and set forth 14 general principles. Among other things, the standards describe limitations on actions an employee may take while seeking other employment, and require that employees use the time they are serving in an official capacity in an honest effort to perform official duties.

The Office of Presidential Libraries Provides Further Guidance on Facilities’ Use and Staff Activities

NARA’s Office of Presidential Libraries oversees the 13 presidential libraries. That office has developed systemwide policies, including the Presidential Libraries Manual, which discusses museum activities and records topics, and the NARA / Office of Presidential Libraries Architecture and Design Standards for Presidential Libraries. The Office of Presidential Libraries also works with the NARA General Counsel on the development of policies governing the library–foundation relationship. The NARA General Counsel has issued legal opinions on foundations’ use of library facilities, when and how library staff can support foundation activities, and if library staff can fundraise for the foundations. Additionally, NARA officials explained that the NARA General Counsel and the Office of Presidential Libraries negotiate with the foundations on the agreements establishing the relationship between a new library and its associated foundation.

According to NARA officials, library directors at the individual libraries consult with the NARA General Counsel about activities that could have political undertones before allowing a program or event. For example, library directors have contacted NARA General Counsel to inquire about using libraries as polling places. NARA approved the use of libraries as polling places as long as certain requirements were met such as that no political solicitation occurs on library-controlled property. In another example, a local political party requested but was not allowed to hold a political forum at the library.

NARA officials told us that NARA does not have internal directives specifically regarding the supervision of library and foundation staff. They said that when library staff are concerned about supervision or other issues while working on a collaborative project with the foundations, they are expected to seek advice from the NARA General Counsel’s ethics program staff. Table 3 provides a summary of NARA policies and NARA General Counsel opinions concerning library–foundation activities and other outside uses of the libraries.

Library–Foundation Agreements Further Define Their Relationship

Each presidential library has a written agreement with its associated foundation and, if applicable, the associated university that governs aspects of the relationship between the entities. These agreements differ in format; content; and the extent to which they address use of facilities, library and foundation staff relationships, and political activities. These agreements must be consistent with the applicable statutes and NARA regulations. At some libraries, the library–foundation relationship is addressed by more than one agreement due to the updating or supplementing of original documents, or to the changing format of the agreements over time. Some of the oldest agreements are primarily a series of Letters of Offer and Acceptance between the foundation and the General Services Administration (GSA), with later agreements taking the form of a mutually signed agreement between the foundation and NARA. For example, the Ford museum and the Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy library agreements (from 1957 to 1980) include one or more Letters of Offer and Acceptance between the foundation and the GSA. Later agreements from more-recently established libraries, as well as earlier libraries that updated their agreements, include mutually signed agreements between the foundation and NARA. Of these later agreements, some focus on a specific project or aspect of the library–foundation relationship, while some focus broadly on the library–foundation relationship.

We reviewed the library–foundation agreements and found that, over time, the agreements have become increasingly more detailed, especially regarding staff, each entity’s use and control of the different parts of the facilities, and political activities. Earlier agreements are largely focused on the transfer of property from the foundation to the United States, while later agreements address additional aspects of the library–foundation relationship. For example, later agreements address which entity controls specific parts of the facilities, including details related to one entity’s use of the other’s space (such as the permitted purposes for using the other’s space, and reimbursing the other entity for costs associated with using its space). Later agreements are also more likely to clarify the different roles and responsibilities of library and foundation staff, and address activities or tasks that library staff are not allowed to perform. Some of the later agreements also address potential conflicts of interest between the library and the foundation. For example, two of the later agreements state that foundation staff are to act in the best interests of the foundation, and NARA staff are to act in the best interests of NARA and the United States. Regarding political activities, two of the later agreements state that library space is not allowed to be used for partisan political activities. Also, NARA regulations give library directors the authority to establish supplemental policies. According to NARA officials, these supplemental policies may provide further detail on the library–foundation relationship regarding facilities, staff, and political activities. Our review was limited to NARA- wide policies and library–foundation agreements and we did not review any local library supplemental policies.

NARA officials explained that the written agreements between individual libraries and the foundations are important, but that they also do not fully prescribe the relationships between the entities. They said that the relationships are shaped over time and by factors such as the particular foundation’s interest in collaborating with the library or doing charitable work elsewhere. For example, the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum and its associated foundation, the Truman Library Institute, are colocated and often collaborate on educational programs. The foundation describes itself as working with the library to “fulfill the Truman Library’s commitment to research and education.” In contrast, the mission of the foundation associated with the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, The Carter Center, does not directly focus on the library, but rather “to advance peace and health worldwide.” NARA officials said that interaction between individual libraries and their foundations vary, but they also stressed that no one foundation’s emphasis is more correct than another. These are examples of differences among foundations and how those differences shape the level of involvement by a foundation with a library.

Agency Comments

We provided a draft of this report to NARA. NARA had no substantive comments and provided technical comments by e-mail, which we incorporated as appropriate. NARA’s letter is reprinted in appendix I.

We will send a copy of this report to the Archivist of the United States. This report will also be available at no charge on GAO’s Web site at http://www.gao.gov. If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-9110 or brostekm@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report are listed in appendix II.

Appendix I: Comments from the National Archives and Records Administration

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Staff Acknowledgments

In addition to the contact named above, David Lewis, Assistant Director; Sonya Phillips; Juliann Gorse; Brianna Benner; Sabrina Streagle; Lois Hanshaw; Susan Christiansen; Lindsay Read; and Jessica Thomsen made key contributions to this report.