For Immediate Release: March 1, 2002
Further information: Tom McNaught (617) 514-1662
Boston: Researchers, libraries, members of the press, and members of the public are advised that the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library has processed and made available for research four additional series of the Personal Papers of Arthur M. Schlesinger.
Arthur M. Schlesinger served in the Kennedy Administration as Special Assistant to the President and is the author of A Thousand Days and Robert Kennedy and His Times.
The Personal Papers of Arthur Schlesinger -- Classified Subject File is now open for research. The documents in the Classified Subject File cover the period from 1961 to 1963 and are arranged alphabetically by subject. There are 31 boxes in this open series. Highlights of the collection include the folders on disarmament, British Guiana, Cuba, and the United Nations. Researchers will note that classified portions still remain closed. Withdrawal sheets describing the closed materials will allow the researchers to request additional review.
Also opened today is the Personal Papers of Arthur Schlesinger -- Classified Chronological File that consists of once classified onion skin copies of memoranda and correspondence written by Arthur Schlesinger to President Kennedy and other members of the staff from 1961 to 1963. The file is arranged by year in reverse chronological order. Copies of many of these documents will be located in other series within the Schlesinger Papers. Researchers should use this series in conjunction with the regular Chronological File of the Schlesinger Papers. Researchers will notice that there is some duplication between these series.
The Personal Papers of Arthur Schlesinger -- Memoranda to the President File is also now available for research. The series consists of memoranda written to President Kennedy by Arthur Schlesinger on various topics from 1961 to 1963. They are arranged by year in reverse chronological order. The Personal Papers of Arthur Schlesinger -- Remarks for the President File is also now open and consists of speech and statement drafts written for President John F. Kennedy by Mr. Schlesinger. The two boxes are organized by title or location and date and are listed chronologically. Researchers may find these speech files very useful when used in conjunction with the speech files already available in the President's Office Files and the Papers of Theodore Sorensen.
The collections are available for research use in the Library’s Research Room. The hours of operation are Monday – Friday from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, and appointments may be made by calling (617) 514-1629.
Materials housed at the John F. Kennedy Library have come to the Library through two routes. First, as Federal records which come from executive departments, commissions and committees of the Federal government. Access to these materials is controlled by the originating agency. In addition, many of these materials contain national security classified information, which under laws and executive orders must be reviewed by the appropriate agency for possible declassification. Some of the materials, such as civil rights cases or litigation, also have privacy restrictions.
Second, as personal papers, which come from individuals under deeds of gift and deposit agreements negotiated between the National Archives and the donor or his/her heirs. These materials, called "donated historical materials", comprise the bulk of the Library’s holdings. Deeds of gift and deposit agreements cover the administration of the collections as well as the title, literary rights, and any restrictions requested by the donor or necessitated by the nature of the materials. Many donors retain literary rights and/or restrict personal financial or medical information. A review of personal papers for national security classified information also sometimes occurs depending upon the nature of the papers themselves. The Library’s holdings currently include 246 personal papers collections, of which 175 are open fully or in part for research use.
To document the life and career of President Kennedy and to provide insight into people, events, and issues of mid-20th century American history, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum collects, preserves and makes available for research the documents, audiovisual material and memorabilia of President Kennedy, his family, and his contemporaries. The Library's Archives includes 36 million pages of documents from the collections of 340 individuals, organizations, or government agencies; oral history interviews with 1,300 people; and over 30,000 books. The Audiovisual Archives administers collections of over 400,000 still photographs, 8,550,000 feet of motion picture film, 1,200 hours of video recordings, over 9,000 hours of audio recordings and 500 original editorial cartoons.
The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum is a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported, in part, by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, a non-profit organization. The Kennedy Library and the Kennedy Library Foundation seek to promote, through educational and community programs, a greater appreciation and understanding of American politics, history, and culture, the process of governing and the importance of public service.