Bush, Clinton Libraries Release Records

Information Management Journal, May/Jun 2005 by Swartz, Nikki

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., has opened to the public for research purposes 100,000 pages of records relating to domestic policy. The materials relate to education, employment, health care, the arts, and President Clinton's efforts to reform the welfare system.

According to Executive Order 13233, Clinton retains the right to withhold release of documents relating to his presidency for 12 years, but he decided to release the information early so that the public would have access to the archives as soon as possible. The Clinton presidential archives contain more than 80 million documents, some of which will be released in 2006. Some of those include documentation from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States. This commission investigated the disposition of of assets belonging to Holocaust victims that came under the control of the U.S. government during and after World War II.

The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library also recently released 9,700 pages of materials relating to his administration. The materials are no longer subject to requirements of the Presidential Records Act, and neither former President Bush nor current President Bush has asserted executive privilege over any of the materials, as is permitted by E.O. 13233.

The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library has opened approximately 5.4 million pages of records from the executive office of the former president. The Bush library is continuing to review previously withheld records for possible release and currently estimates that such records will total approximately 57,000 pages.