About Us

 

About the Library

The Barack Obama Presidential Library is the 14th Presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), a federal agency.

Unlike other Presidential Libraries administered by NARA, the Barack Obama Presidential Library will be the first fully digital presidential library. An estimated 95 percent of the Presidential records of the Obama administration were born-digital, such as photos, videos, word processing documents, tweets, emails, and other common digital formats. NARA also received approximately 30 million pages of unclassified paper Presidential records.

With the Obama Presidential records becoming subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on January 20, 2022, NARA began digitizing the paper records. Records requested under FOIA are digitized, with the digitized records being processed for access review - along with requested records in any other formats (born-digital, audiovisual, etc.). 

Following digitization, NARA will store and preserve the original records and the Obama administration artifacts in an existing NARA facility that meets NARA’s standards for archival storage. The dedicated staff at that location will be responsible for caring for the records and artifacts. (Currently, the Obama administration materials are housed in a temporary facility in Hoffman Estates, IL, which is not open to the public.)

Obama Presidential records are administered in accordance with the requirements of the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and became subject to public Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on January 20, 2022. NARA is committed to meeting all our obligations under the PRA and FOIA. The digitization and Presidential records review processes are separate and distinct.

For more information about the Obama Presidential Library, please see NARA's FAQ.

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About the Obama Presidential Center

The Obama Foundation is constructing the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side in Jackson Park. The Center will be a privately operated, non-federal organization. NARA will loan a number of items (records and artifacts) for display at the Museum at the Obama Presidential Center.

For the most current information on the Obama Presidential Center, visit www.obama.org .