National Archives Assumes Control of Nixon Library

On July 11, 2007, the legal transfer of the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace from the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) took place.

Concurrently with the transfer, the new Nixon Library opened approximately 78,000 pages of previously withheld materials.

Approximately 58,000 pages come from the Special Files, which were created by the Nixon White House to segregate the most sensitive information from the White House Central Files. Included in the Special Files are the President’s personal files, his office files, and the files of his closest aides such as John Dean, H.R. Haldeman, Charles Colson and John Ehrlichman. The remaining approximate 20,000 pages are from the White House Central Files.

165 tape recorded conversations, totaling approximately 11 ½ hours, were also released. The Nixon Foundation, as part of the transfer agreement, donated to the National Archives approximately 800 hours from the Nixon White House Tapes previously removed from the tapes according to the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act (PRMPA) of 1974. The National Archives intends to release the remaining tapes from November 1972 in mid-2008.

Selected documents and conversations from all of the newly-released tapes are available at the Nixon Library’s website. All of the newly-released tapes and newly-released documents are also available for research in the research room at the Nixon Library and at the National Archives facility in College Park, MD.