Presidential library for U.S. President Gerald Ford, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is a repository located on the north campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.[1] The library houses archival materials on the life, career, and presidency of Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States.[2] The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is a part of the National Archives and Records Administrationspresidential library system.
While a member of the United States Congress, Ford began donating his congressional papers to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, his alma mater (B.A. ), in [3] As his presidency drew to a close, Ford offered to donate his presidential materials to a presidential library that would be built on the university's campus and administered by the National Archives.[3] Construction of the library started on January 15, , and it was opened to the public on April 27, [4]
The Ford Library is currently the only National Archives presidential library that is physically separate from its presidential museum, although both sites share a common director. The Gerald R. Ford Museum is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ford's old congressional district and hometown, &#;miles west-northwest of Ann Arbor.[3]
The majority of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library collection is made up of presidential and White House staff papers from Papers from Betty Ford, additional pre- and post-presidential papers, research interviews and papers, as well as various Federal records are also included in the collection. In total, there are 3, hours of audio, 25 million pages of documents, 3, hours of motion picture film, , photographs, and 3, hours of video housed in the collection.[4]