The Truman Presidential Museum and Library and the University of Missouri-Kansas City together have created the Presidential Studies Collection in UMKC‘s Miller Nichols Library. More than 2 million pages of presidential documents and 1,500 books relating to the presidency are in the process of being transferred from the Truman Library's holdings to Miller Nichols Library. After the transfer is completed and the materials are prepared for use, the new Presidential Studies Collection at UMKC will allow these materials to be more centrally available to students, teachers and the public in the Greater Kansas City area.

To celebrate the establishment of the Collection, the Truman Library and UMKC hosted an event on Feb. 25, 2000 at the Miller Nichols Library. Students from Paseo High School, the Barstow School, and UMKC engaged in a research workshop using materials in the Collection. The workshop illustrated the unique and challenging character of original historical documents, and helped students analyze the information from the Collection to make their own judgments about past events. The Collection will facilitate similar research opportunities for High School, College, and University students in a classroom setting or on an individual basis.

In addition to books, the materials in the Collection include more than 2,000 rolls of microfilm containing substantial collections of the papers of 19 presidents, including George Washington, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt. The collections of 16 of the presidents are in the holdings of the Library of Congress; the John Adams and John Quincy Adams papers are held by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Also included in the Collection are photocopies of 40,000 pages of historic documents regarding 53 significant topics relating to Harry S. Truman and his presidency, including the decision to drop the atomic bomb, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the recognition of Israel, the founding of NATO, the 1948 election, the Fair Deal and the Korean War. Entire classes may use these photocopied materials which have been gathered together by the Truman Library and designated as the Student Research File. Students, as well as anyone with an interest in the Presidency, may also independently use these and other materials from the Collection.

Under the joint agreement creating the Presidential Studies Collection, which was approved by both the Archivist of the United States (the Truman Library is part of the National Archives and Records Administration) and the Chancellor of UMKC, the university will catalog the Collection, acquire new equipment to store it and facilitate its use, and will provide free and open access to it. The Websites of both of the partners will provide information about the Collection.

In addition, the Truman Library will promote use of the collection to students during National History Day competitions, which the library sponsors in the Greater Kansas City, Missouri region. The partners will appoint collection liaisons and a joint working group to regularly review the condition and use of the collection.

The Truman Presidential Museum & Library is one of 10 Presidential Libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. It houses about 15 million pages of documents, including President Truman’s own papers relating to his life and presidency. The Truman Library is located at 500 U. S. Highway 24 in Independence, Mo.  For information, call (816) 833-1400 or visit the Truman Library Website.

UMKC University Libraries, with three campus locations, consist of more than one million volumes, 6,722 current serial subscriptions and collections of government documents, microforms, sound recordings and musical scores. The Presidential Papers Collection will be complemented not only by these holdings, but also by the Libraries’ Special Collections, which include the Snyder Collection of Americana, the Richard W. Bolling Papers, and the Marr Sound Archives which has developed a supporting Web page of excerpts of several presidential speeches.  A UMKC Library Guide to the American Presidency has also been developed.

Ready reference service and on-site access to the library's collections are available to the Kansas City community during library hours, which during regular semesters are Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 - 11 p.m. Library materials are available in many formats including print, CD-ROM and online technology. Primary access to the collections is available by using the University of Missouri System’s online catalog, MERLIN.

For more information, call (816) 235-1534. To schedule group appointments to use the Presidential Studies Collection, call Teresa Gipson, Special Collections Library Assistant (816-235-1532), Kelly McEniry, Special Collections Library Assistant (816-235-1532), or Elizabeth Henry, Assistant Director for Public Services (816-235-1530).