Arlington Mayor Dr. Robert Cluck

August 22, 2005
Presidential Library bid

As many of you may have heard, Arlington is one of five Texas sites vying to be the home of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Presidential libraries were first envisioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt who funded and constructed a library from private donations and then gave it to the United States Government for operation by the National Archives. However, it was President Dwight Eisenhower who signed the Presidential Libraries Act, making the practice official on August 12, 1955. This piece of legislation provided for the transfer of Presidential papers and other items to the National Archives and allowed for the construction of Presidential libraries at no cost to the tax payers. Currently there are twelve Presidential Libraries. The newest of those are the President William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois. These two libraries both have museum components which serve to educate and inform visitors in an accessible manner that a traditional library cannot. All of the libraries also serve as tourist attractions and economic generators, as well as resources for scholars.

On July 15, 2005, Arlington received the Library Outline (pdf), a summary of the items any proposal for the George W. Bush Presidential Library should contain. The Outline indicates that the facility, wherever it ends up will go far beyond what most of us traditionally consider as a library. According to the Outline, in addition to storage and research space for records from President Bush’s time in office, there will also be interactive exhibits, an educational component and a public policy institute. The opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library this year has reset the bar for the museum component of Presidential libraries. With 46,000 square feet of permanent exhibit space, a multi-screen theater, holographic presentations and replicas of the former President’s childhood home and the House Chamber where his casket lay before he was laid to rest, the Lincoln Library has created an active experience with history and replaced the passive observation of the traditional museum visit.

The range and scope of the Outline indicates to me that the George W. Bush Presidential Library will be an impressive and valuable institution to any Texas location, and will have the power to instantly add to the economic base of that community. The Clinton Library already is credited with spurring $800 million in development in Little Rock and attracting 365,000 visitors in the nine months it has been open. Pursuing a Presidential Library is a smart move for both economic development and tourism. As we move through this process, I will continue to work to keep the best interests of Arlington at the forefront of all of my efforts. Thank you for your support of Arlington!

Robert N. Cluck, M.D.
Mayor of Arlington