History of the Gerald R. Ford
Library and Museum (1990)
2006 Update:
The Ford Presidential Library and Museum have continued to evolve in major
ways since the survey below was written in 1990.
At the Library, research opportunities and usage have grown with: major acquisitions
such as Defense Secretary Melvin Laird's papers; the implementation of an
aggressive declassification program for national security materials; the expansion
of research grants programs; and new programs for undergraduate and high school
AP instruction. In 2005, the Library launched an Ann Arbor-based exhibits and
speakers program with funding from the Gerald R. Ford Foundation.
At the Museum, the core exhibits were completely redesigned as part of a major
building expansion completed in 1997.
This has allowed for a more ambitious program of changing feature exhibits
and events. Expanded funding from the Gerald R. Ford Foundation has been pivotal
in these efforts.
1990 History:
The Gerald R. Ford Library is essentially like the other presidential libraries
in terms of holdings, clientele, staff, and programs. There is, however,
one substantial difference.
President Ford is the first president to separate the two major functions associated
with presidential libraries. His archives is in Ann Arbor, on the campus of
his alma mater The University of Michigan, while his museum is in Grand Rapids
in his old congressional district.
In his letter of December 13, 1976, to the president of The University of Michigan
and the Archivist of the United States, President Gerald R. Ford donated papers
and other historical materials of his years in public life to the federal government
for preservation in the state of Michigan. By so doing, he became the first
president to give his historical materials to the people of the United States
while still in office.
On January 20, 1977, inauguration day for Jimmy Carter, shipment of Ford's
papers to a University of Michigan warehouse in Ann Arbor was begun. There
an experienced staff of federal archivists, headed by William J. Stewart, began
sorting and processing the papers.
Funds for the construction of the library and museum were raised through the
efforts of the Gerald Ford Commemorative Committee, the University of Michigan,
the State of Michigan, Kent County, and the City of Grand Rapids. There were
more than 14,000 individual donors.
A site on the North Campus of the University, now 1000 Beal Avenue, adjacent
to the Bentley Historical Library (Michigan Historical Collections), was selected
for the Library. Ground was broken in January 1979 and President Ford participated
in ceremonies marking the laying of the cornerstone in June of that year. Construction
of the Library was overseen by a building committee headed by Robert M. Warner,
director of the Bentley Library, who later became Archivist of the United States.
The building was occupied by Ford Library staff in July of 1980, although formal
dedication of the $4.2 million building did not take place until April 1981.
At the ceremony Benno C. Schmidt, a spokesman for the donors, presented the
building to the University. Immediately upon accepting the building, University
President Harold Shapiro assigned it to the National Archives as "tenants in perpetuity." Jickling,
Lyman and Powell Associates of Birmingham, Michigan, architects of the neighboring
Bentley Library, designed the Ford Library to harmonize with the Bentley and
other North Campus architecture while meeting archival requirements. It is
a low-lying two-story pale red brick and bronze-tinted glass structure. The
architectural focal point of the interior is a spacious two-story lobby opening
onto an outdoor plaza. Through a window wall one can watch the hypnotic movement
of two large stainless steel triangles, a kinetic sculpture created for the
Ford Library by noted sculptor George Rickey. The lobby features a grand staircase
with a glass-supported bronze railing under a large skylight. The building
as a whole was designed to be highly functional as well as attractive. The
interior is finished in natural red oak with abundant natural lighting.
In addition to the lobby, which contains an exhibit on the development and
use of the Library, other public areas include a multi-purpose auditorium which
seats 165, meeting rooms, a manuscripts research room, and a specially equipped
audiovisual research room. The office maintained for President Ford's use during
visits to the Library may be viewed.
Work areas include special temperature and humidity controlled storage space
for paper records, a cold storage vault for long- term preservation of audiovisual
materials, a high security vault and security system, a fully equipped preservation
and reproduction laboratory for audiovisual materials, as well as staff offices.
The original shipment of papers totaled 8,500 cubic feet. By 1990 the total,
reflecting new acquisitions as well as disposal activity, was approximately
9,350 cubic feet or 18,700,000 pages. In addition to Ford's own congressional,
vice presidential, and presidential papers, there are the files of more than
100 White House advisors and staff assistants, the President Ford Committee
1976 campaign records, and the personal papers of Mrs. Ford and others associated
with the President, such as Federal Reserve Board chairman Arthur Burns, press
secretary Ron Nessen, political pollster Robert Teeter, and energy advisor
Frank Zarb. A select group of federal government records (including those from
the Council of Economic Advisors and the President's Commission on Olympic
Sports) have been placed in the Ford Library because of their relevance to
other Library holdings. Ford's congressional and vice presidential papers were
opened to research in July of 1981. Portions of the presidential papers (nearly
five million pages) were made available to scholars on April 5, 1982. Additional
material is opened for research as it is arranged, reviewed, and described
by Library archivists. More than 60% of the Library's holdings are now available
for use by researchers.
In 1986 the Ford Library was chosen to test the prototype of an automation
system for manuscript processing and reference for the presidential libraries.
PRESNET, as the system is called, allows archivists to provide researchers
with a search of the database in a matter of minutes. To date, descriptions
of approximately 90% of the open holdings have been entered into the database.
The audiovisual holdings contain 314,800 still photographs, 1265 hours of videotapes,
800,000 feet of film, and 2,100 hours of audiotape. This resource is used both
by on-site researchers and extensively by mail and telephone requestors.
More than 3000 researchers, averaging four daily visits each, have conducted
research at the Library since the collections were opened. United States domestic
and foreign policy and party politics in the mid-1970s are the main subject
focus of the collections. Gerald Ford's private life and public career since
his election to Congress in 1948 are collateral topics.
Library archivists provide reference advice and assistance to U.S. and overseas
scholars, college students, high school teachers and students, journalists,
freelance writers, and interested citizens. In 1989 archivists furnished nearly
5,000 boxes of files, prepared over 15,000 pages of reproductions, and answered
more than 1200 oral and written queries.
Archivists conduct a senior level history course at the University of Michigan
and hold a variety of instructional programs and workshops for area college
and high school history, political science, and archives courses. Special talks
and guided tours are available for school, civic and other groups. Talks are
tailored to each groups's interests.
The
44,000
square
foot
sleek
two-story
triangular
museum,
which
was
built
at a
cost
of $11
million
including
site
preparation,
was
designed
by Marvin
DeWinter
Associates
of Grand
Rapids.
Also
instrumental
in the
planning
of the
Museum
was
the
Gerald
R. Ford
Commemorative
Committee
chaired
by Jordan
Sheperd.
The
Museum
is the
pivotal
attraction
in a
20-acre
park
complex
along
the
west
bank
of the
Grand
River
in downtown
Grand
Rapids.
Dedicated
in September
1981
with
a gala
celebration
attended
by President
and
Mrs.
Reagan,
the
Museum
has
a 300-foot
glass
wall
providing
a panoramic
view
of the
river
and
the
skyline
of Grand
Rapids.
A reflecting
pool
and
fountain
welcomes
visitors
at the
front
entrance
and
a broad
pedestrian
bridge
links
the
Museum
with
downtown
hotels
and
shops.
The main exhibition floor is devoted to President Ford's life and career and
to the nature of the presidency. Candid photographs of Gerald Ford and his
family also offer the visitor a view of the man at informal moments. A full-scale
replica of the Oval Office, furnished as it was when Gerald Ford was president,
is one of the highlights of the Museum. Special exhibits on the 1976 bicentennial
and the role of Mrs. Ford are also popular.
Visitors can see gifts presented by heads of state and other foreign dignitaries,
as well as personal gifts to President Ford from the American people. An award-winning
film, "Gerald R. Ford: The Presidency Restored," is shown every hour in the
Museum's auditorium. The Museum also offers a program of changing exhibits,
sometimes borrowed from other institutions such as the Smithsonian, to enhance
its permanent displays.
In addition to exhibit areas, the Museum houses an auditorium seating 280 persons,
a sales desk area, staff offices, special museum storage for the permanent
collection, and exhibit preparation areas.
The Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum have been active in sponsoring scholarly
conferences and community activities, often in conjunction with other organizations
such as The University of Michigan and the Domestic Policy Association. Much
of the funding for these events comes from the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, a
non-profit organization which also awards grants-in-aid of up to $2000 to researchers
who use the Ford Library archival holdings, publishes a newsletter twice a
year reporting on the activities of the Library and Museum, sponsors the William
E. Simon Lectures in Public Affairs, and awards journalism prizes for excellence
in reporting on the presidency and defense issues.
In February 1983, Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were co-chairmen
of the first in a series of presidential conferences on the public and public
policy. The meeting capped a national program to improve communication between
government and the people. In the fall of 1982 three former press secretaries
and three prestigious national journalists joined President Ford to discuss
the role of the press in shaping the nation's perception of the president.
A symposium on "Modern First Ladies: Private Lives and Public Duties," held in April 1984 at the Museum brought together members of several former "first families" and
was covered by more than 200 reporters from around the country.
In 1985, President Ford called on the nation's foremost scholars and political
party leaders to brainstorm about reforming the way America nominates its presidents.
The experts, after two days at the Ford Library, generated many recommendations
which resulted in a publication by the Gerald R. Ford Foundation through the
American Enterprise Institute entitled Before Nomination--Our Primary Problems,
edited by George Grassmuck.
The Library was the site of the taping of a series of programs on "The Presidency and the Constitution" broadcast on public television in 1987, and of the gathering of representatives of 44 countries for an All-Democracies Conference in December 1988. Other conferences sponsored by the Library and Museum may have been more educational, but none has been more entertaining than the "Humor and the Presidency" conference
held at the Museum in the fall of 1986. It brought together well-known comedians,
columnists, politicians, press secretaries, and political cartoonists to explore
all areas of the topic. Receiving heavy press coverage, including appearances
by President Ford and Chevy Chase on the morning television news programs,
the event was a huge success. The conference was taped for later broadcast
on HBO.
The Museum has established a strong commitment to involvement in the community
affairs of Grand Rapids. Annual programs at the Museum include the "Great Decisions
Lecture Series" which
brings in guest speakers on selected foreign policy topics and features audience
discussion and the filling out of opinion ballots; an association with the
Close Up Foundation, an organization promoting student awareness of public
issues; sponsorship of Citizens Bee, a high school level program devoted to
history and political affairs; and the American Political Film Series, the
presentation of eight often controversial motion pictures each year, which
have attracted audiences of up to 300 people. At Christmastime, area youth
are invited to participate in the making of ornaments for the large tree in
the Museum lobby. The Museum staff also conducts teacher in-service workshops
for school districts in Western Michigan.
Both the Library and Museum have active volunteer programs. At the Museum the
docents serve as tour guides and assist with special events. The Library volunteers
work with manuscript collections as well as showing visitors around the building.
The Gerald R. Ford Library, with its University of Michigan affiliation, and
the Museum, with its close ties to the community of Grand Rapids, are uniquely
able to fulfill the dual mission of the presidential libraries system.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE:
Horrocks,
David
A. "Access
and
Accessibility
at the
Gerald
R. Ford
Library."
Government
Information
Quarterly,
Vol.
11,
No.
1, 1994.
Mackaman, Frank H. "Human Drama: Presidential Museums Tell the Story." Prologue,
Summer 1989
Rohrer, Karen B. "'If there was anything you forgot to ask ...' the Papers
of Betty Ford." Prologue,
Summer 1987.
Schick, Frank. Records of the Presidency: Presidential
Papers and Libraries from Washington to Reagan. Oryx Press: 1989
Tobin, Leesa. "Betty Ford as First Lady: A Woman for Women." Presidential
Studies Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 4, Fall 1990.
Veit, Fritz. Presidential Libraries and Collections. Greenwood
Press, 1987.
Warner, Robert M. "The Prologue is Past." American
Archivist, January 1978.
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