Dates: 1957-2000
Size: 32 linear feet, 10 linear inches (approximately 60,000 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Documents prepared by United States Government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain.
Processed by: Dennis E. Bilger (2003); Sharie Simon, David Clark and Randy Sowell (2010); Doug McClellan and David Clark (2013); David Clark (2014).
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Agency History Note | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
The Records of the Harry S. Truman Library are included among the Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Record Group 64. From the time of the Library's establishment in 1957 until 1985, the Library was part of NARA's predecessor agency, the National Archives and Records Service (NARS), which in turn was part of the General Services Administration. NARA was established as an independent agency in 1985.
The Director's Reading File contains copies of letters from Philip C. Brooks, Benedict K. Zobrist and Larry Hackman, the first three directors of the Harry S. Truman Library. Also included are copies of letters from other Library officials, interoffice memoranda, and reports on Library activities.
The records in this series provide detailed information about the early history of the Truman Library, which was founded in 1957 as the second presidential library in the National Archives system, and the first to be created under the provisions of the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955. Former President Truman maintained a working office at the Library and was there on an almost daily basis from 1957 to 1966. Still an active and controversial public figure throughout this period, he was also keenly interested in the Library's research and educational activities.
The correspondence, memoranda, and reports in this series document personnel and procedural matters at the Truman Library; contacts with the National Archives and with other presidential libraries; relations with Mr. Truman and his personal staff; the dedication and opening of the Library; the creation of museum exhibits; the processing and opening for research of Truman's papers and other archival materials; the progress of the Library's oral history program; the solicitation and acquisition of manuscripts, books, and artifacts; the accommodation of visiting researchers; comments of museum visitors, construction and renovation projects at the Library; responses to requests for information; conferences of Truman scholars; and contacts with Margaret Truman Daniel and other members of the family after Mr. Truman's death in 1972.
In addition to Brooks, Zobrist and Hackman, other authors of documents in this series include Milton F. Perry, Philip D. Lagerquist, J. R. Fuchs and George Curtis. Perry was the first curator of the Library's museum. Lagerquist and Fuchs were the Library's first two archivists, and were involved in processing manuscript collections and assisting researchers.
More information relating to this subject can be found at the Truman Library in the papers of Philip C. Brooks and Benedict K. Zobrist, in the Library's oral history interview with Philip D. Lagerquist, and in other Library records that are available for research.
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Container Nos. |
Series |
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1-75 |
DIRECTOR'S READING FILE, 1957-2000 Correspondence, memoranda, and reports written by the director of the Truman Library and by other staff members. Arranged chronologically. |
DIRECTOR'S READING FILE, 1957-2000
Box 1
- March 1957
- April-June 1957
- July-August 1957
- September 1957
- October 1957
- November-December 1957
- January-February 1957
- March 1958
- April 1958
Box 2
- May 1958
- June 1958
- July 1958
- August-September 1958
- October 1958
- November-December 1958
- January 1959
- February 1959
- March 1959
- April 1959
- May 1959
Box 3
- June 1959
- July 1959
- August 1959
- September 1959
- October 1959
- November 1959
- December 1959
- January 1960
- February 1960 [1 of 2]
Box 4
- February 1960 [2 of 2]
- March 1960
- Conference of Scholars, March 25-26, 1960 [on research opportunities at the Truman Library] [1 of 2]
- Conference of Scholars, March 25-26, 1960 [on research opportunities at the Truman Library] [2 of 2]
- April 1960
- May 1960
- June 1960
- July 1960
Box 5
- August 1960
- September 1960
- October 1960
- November 1960
- December 1960
- January 1961
- February 1961
- March 1961
Box 6
- April 1961 [1 of 2]
- April 1961 [2 of 2]
- May 1961 [1 of 2]
- May 1961 [2 of 2]
- June 1961 [1 of 2]
- June 1961 [2 of 2]
- July 1961
- August 1961 [1 of 2]
- August 1961 [2 of 2]
Box 7
- September 1961
- October 1961
- November 1961
- December 1961 [1 of 2]
- December 1961 [2 of 2]
- January 1962
- February 1962
- March 1962 [1 of 2]
- March 1962 [2 of 2]
Box 8
- April 1962 [1 of 2]
- April 1962 [2 of 2]
- May 1962 [1 of 2]
- May 1962 [2 of 2]
- June 1962
- July 1962 [1 of 2]
- July 1962 [2 of 2]
- August 1962
- September 1962
Box 9
- October 1962 [1 of 2]
- October 1962 [2 of 2]
- November 1962 [1 of 2]
- November 1962 [2 of 2]
- December 1962
- January 1963 [1 of 2]
- January 1963 [2 of 2]
- February 1963
- March 1963
Box 10
- April 1963
- May 1963
- June 1963
- July 1963
- August 1963
- September 1963
- October 1963 [1 of 2]
- October 1963 [2 of 2]
Box 11
- November 1963 [1 of 2]
- November 1963 [2 of 2]
- December 1963
- January 1964
- February 1964 [1 of 2]
- February 1964 [2 of 2]
- March 1964 [1 of 2]
- March 1964 [2 of 2]
- April 1964 [1 of 2]
Box 12
- April 1964 [2 of 2]
- May 1964
- June 1964
- July 1964
- August 1964 [1 of 2]
- August 1964 [2 of 2]
- September 1964 [1 of 2]
- September 1964 [2 of 2]
Box 13
- October 1964 [1 of 2]
- October 1964 [2 of 2]
- November 1964 [1 of 2]
- November 1964 [2 of 2]
- December 1964
- January 1965
- February 1965 [1 of 2]
- February 1965 [2 of 2]
Box 14
- March 1965 [1 of 2]
- March 1965 [2 of 2]
- April 1965 [1 of 2]
- April 1965 [2 of 2]
- May 1965 [1 of 2]
- May 1965 [2 of 2]
- June 1965 [1 of 2]
- June 1965 [2 of 2]
- July 1965
Box 15
- August 1965 [1 of 2]
- August 1965 [2 of 2]
- September 1965 [1 of 2]
- September 1965 [2 of 2]
- October 1965 [1 of 2]
- October 1965 [2 of 2]
- November 1965 [1 of 2]
- November 1965 [2 of 2]
- December 1965 [1 of 2]
- December 1965 [2 of 2]
- January 1966 [1 of 2]
- January 1966 [2 of 2]
Box 16
- February 1966 [1 of 2]
- February 1966 [2 of 2]
- March 1966 [1 of 2]
- March 1966 [2 of 2]
- April 1966 [1 of 2]
- April 1966 [2 of 2]
- May 1966
- June 1966
- July 1966
- August 1966
Box 17
- September 1966
- October 1966
- November 1966
- December 1966
- January 1967
- February 1967
- March 1967 [1 of 2]
- March 1967 [2 of 2]
Box 18
- April 1967 [1 of 2]
- April 1967 [2 of 2]
- May 1967 [1 of 2]
- May 1967 [2 of 2]
- June 1967
- July 1967
- August 1967
- September 1967
- October 1967 [1 of 2]
- October 1967 [2 of 2]
Box 19
- November 1967
- December 1967
- January 1968
- February 1968
- March 1968 [1 of 2]
- March 1968 [2 of 2]
- April 1968
- May 1968
- June 1968
Box 20
- July 1968
- August 1968
- September 1968
- October 1968 [1 of 2]
- October 1968 [2 of 2]
- November 1968
- December 1968
- January 1969
- February 1969
Box 21
- March 1969 [1 of 2]
- March 1969 [2 of 2]
- April 1969 [1 of 2]
- April 1969 [2 of 2]
- May 1969
- June 1969 [1 of 2]
- June 1969 [2 of 2]
- July 1969 [1 of 2]
- July 1969 [2 of 2]
- August 1969 [1 of 2]
Box 22
- August 1969 [2 of 2]
- September 1969 [1 of 2]
- September 1969 [2 of 2]
- October 1969 [1 of 2]
- October 1969 [2 of 2]
- November 1969
- December 1969 [1 of 2]
- December 1969 [2 of 2]
- January 1970
Box 23
- February 1970
- March 1970 [1 of 2]
- March 1970 [2 of 2]
- April 1970 [1 of 2]
- April 1970 [2 of 2]
- May 1970 [1 of 2]
- May 1970 [2 of 2]
- June 1970 [1 of 2]
- June 1970 [2 of 2]
Box 24
- July 1970 [1 of 2]
- July 1970 [2 of 2]
- August 1970 [1 of 2]
- August 1970 [2 of 2]
- September 1970 [1 of 2]
- September 1970 [2 of 2]
- October 1970 [1 of 2]
- October 197