Dates: 1966-2013
Director, Harry S. Truman Library, 1995-2000
The papers of Larry J. Hackman include correspondence, financial records, handwritten notes, printed materials, and other items concerning his activities as Director of the Harry S. Truman Library; his involvement in planning and raising funds for a major renovation of the Library's museum; and his continuing interest in Presidential Libraries.
Size: 6 linear feet, 2 linear inches (about 11,200 pages).
Access: Open, with the exception of a few documents that are closed for reasons of personal privacy in accordance with the donor's deed of gift.
Copyright: The donor gave his copyright interest in this collection, and in any other collection of papers at the Harry S. Truman Library, to the U.S. Government. Documents created by U.S. Government officials in the course of their duties are also in the public domain. The copyright interest in other documents in this collection presumably belongs to the creators of the documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Randy Sowell (2017).
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
1942 |
Born Lawrence J. Hackman, Glasgow, Missouri |
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1964 |
B.A., University of Missouri |
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1965 |
M.A., University of Missouri |
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1966-1975 |
Senior Archivist, Director of Special Programs, and Director of the Oral History Program, John F. Kennedy Library |
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1971 |
M.P.A., John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University |
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1975-1981 |
First Director of the Historical Records Program, National Historical Publications and Records Commission |
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1981-1995 |
Assistant Commissioner of Education, State Archivist of New York, and Executive Officer of the New York State Archives Partnership Trust |
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1995-2000 |
Director, Harry S. Truman Library (also served for most of this period as Secretary and, later, President of the Harry S. Truman Library Institute for National and International Affairs) |
The papers of Larry J. Hackman contain correspondence, financial records, handwritten notes, printed materials, and other items concerning his activities as Director of the Harry S. Truman Library from 1995 to 2000; his involvement in planning and raising funds for a major renovation of the Library's museum that included the creation of new permanent exhibits; and his continuing interest in Presidential Libraries and their relations with the U.S. government, the general public, and the nonprofit organizations that support their activities. The collection is arranged in a single series, the Subject File.
Hackman became the third Director in the Truman Library's history in 1995. His papers include extensive correspondence (mostly printouts of e-mail messages, with some letters and memorandums) relating to his efforts to reform and restructure the Library and its nonprofit partner, the Harry S. Truman Library Institute for National and International Affairs. Much of this correspondence focuses on preparations for a fundraising program aimed at financing a long-planned renovation of the Truman Library. Plans for new museum exhibits, structural renovations, and the establishment of an educational program for the Library are documented in the correspondence and in related printed materials, financial records, and handwritten notes. The creation of the Library's White House Decision Center (WHDC), a role-playing exercise for visiting students featuring historical situations from the Truman Presidency, is the subject of a large body of material. Hackman's decision to retire as Library Director in 2000, his involvement in selecting his successor, and his efforts to ensure the preservation of the reforms he had initiated are also reflected in the papers. There is relatively little material in the collection predating Hackman's appointment as Truman Library Director in 1995, or pertaining to his previous career as an archivist, oral historian, and administrator.
The papers also contain information on Hackman's activities after he retired as Director, including his continuing interest and involvement in the Library's activities; his preparation of a "case study' on relations between the Library and its Institute ("A Presidential Library Partnership,' February, 2002); his involvement in organizing a conference of scholars and administrators at Princeton University in April, 2004, which resulted in a report on the public aspects of Presidential Libraries ("Presidential Libraries: A Background Paper on Their Museums and Their Public Programs,' December, 2004) ; and his writing and editing of a special issue of the journal Public Historian, dedicated to an examination of Presidential Libraries, which was published in 2006. The collection also includes materials relating to Hackman's presentations to various audiences during and after his tenure as Library Director.
The Truman Library also has the papers of Hackman's predecessors as Director of the Library, Philip C. Brooks and Benedict K. Zobrist. Other related resources at the Library include the online transcript of an oral history interview with Larry J. Hackman, the Records of the Harry S. Truman Library Institute, the Records of the Harry S. Truman Library, Inc., and the Records of the National Archives and Records Administration: Harry S. Truman Library (Record Group 64).
Container Nos. |
Series |
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1-14 |
SUBJECT FILE, 1966-2013 Correspondence, financial records, handwritten notes, printed materials, and other items mostly concerning the activities of Larry J. Hackman as Director of the Harry S. Truman Library and his involvement with the Presidential Library system. Arranged alphabetically by folder title, and thereunder chronologically. |
Box 1
- "A Learning Center at the Truman Library: A Discussion Outline"
- "A Presidential Library Partnership" [1 of 2]
- "A Presidential Library Partnership" [2 of 2]
- "A Presidential Library Partnership': Interviews
- "A Presidential Library Partnership': Research Materials
- "A Vision for the Truman Library, 1996'
- Advertising, Tourism, and Promotion Meeting, May 29, 1996
- Assistant Director's Duties
- Bidder's Briefing, August 3, 2000
- Bi-State Cultural Tax, 2000-2001
- Bridges, Ed
- Budget: Building Renovation Project, 1999-2000
Box 2
- Campaign Funding Document Breakdowns
- Carlin, John
- Chart, Matrix, and Report on Truman Library Resources
- Chermayeff & Geismar/Metaform: Contract Issues, 1997
- Chermayeff & Geismar/Metaform: Contract Issues, 1998
- Chermayeff & Geismar/Metaform: Presidential Exhibits, 1997
- Clippings
- Cochrane, Lynn Scott: Dissertation, "The Presidential Library System" [1 of 2]
- Cochrane, Lynn Scott: Dissertation, "The Presidential Library System" [2 of 2]
- Combined Library and Institute Budget Overview
- Congress and Presidential Libraries
- Conversations and Advice: Pre-Truman Appointment, 1995
Box 3
- Devine, Michael
- Dewey, Thomas E.: Signature
- Drafts and Ideas
- George W. Bush Library [1 of 2]
- George W. Bush Library [2 of 2]
- Harry S. Truman Building: Dedication, 2000
- Institute
- Institute Board, Executive Committee, and Capital Campaign Committee Minutes, 1987-1994 [1 of 2]
- Institute Board, Executive Committee, and Capital Campaign Committee Minutes, 1987-1994 [2 of 2]
- Institute Corridor Photographs
- Institute Legal and Fiscal Issues, 1996
Box 4
- Institute Prospect Dinners, 1998
- Institute Retreat, May, 1996
- Institute Retreat, May, 1996: Follow-Up
- Jost, Kenneth, ‘Presidential Libraries,' CQ Researcher, March 16, 2007
- Kayle, Milton
- Library and Institute Fact Sheet, 1997
- Memorandum on Files, November 14, 2013
- "Museums in Presidential Libraries," December, 2004
- National Council on Public History: Meeting, Kansas City, April, 2005
- Partnership Principles: Truman Library and Truman Library Institute
- Pauley Foundation
- Post-Retirement Assignments
- Pre-Construction Meeting, March 30, 2000
- Presentations
- Presentations: Finance and Budget Graphs
- Presentations: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, 2001
- Presentations: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, 2004
Box 5
- Presentations: Hoover Library Association, 2001
- Presentations: Library Director's Meeting, February, 2001
- Presentations: Library Director's Meeting, September, 2001
- Presentations: Outlines
- Presentations: Power Point Charts and Graphs
- Presidential Galleries: Bid Process
- "Presidential Libraries: A Background Paper on Their Museums and Their Public Programs, December 2004"
- Presidential Libraries, Office of
- "Presidential Museums and the Public"
- Princeton Conference
- Princeton Conference: Background Paper
- Princeton Conference: Correspondence
- Princeton Conference: Education Programs
- Princeton Conference: Follow-Up Plans
- Princeton Conference: Funding and Budget
Box 6
- Princeton Conference: Hufbauer, Benjamin
- Princeton Conference: Katz, Stanley [1 of 2]
- Princeton Conference: Katz, Stanley [2 of 2]
- Princeton Conference: NARA [National Archives and Records Administration]
- Princeton Conference: Participants
- Princeton Conference: Press Reports and Information on Presidential Libraries [1 of 2] <