The Presidential Studies Collection at the University of Missouri - Kansas City Libraries
A Partnership Dedicated to History Education and Student Research
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.

Research Materials	Project-Based Learning	The Collection	Programs & Services
	UMKC Library Guide to the American Presidency

Research Materials

A solid history education includes developing research skills using primary source materials (firsthand resources).

Examples:
Letters Memos Diaries Reports Speech drafts Notes	Telegrams Maps Photographs Films Sound recordings		Primary sources are essential for understanding the past, and this collection has been created to give college and high school students access to them as they relate to the Presidency.

Project-Based Learning

Primary sources are much more powerful tools than textbooks which were written long after the events occurred. They involve the student to a greater degree, and the research teaches skills associated with creating and presenting a project:

• Research
• Organizing relevant information
• Synthesizing it into their own ideas and hypotheses
• Communicating the findings

These and other valuable skills will help make them effective professionals, whatever direction their lives take.

The Collection

The Collection has three parts:

Programs and Services

Opportunities for High School, College, and University Students:

• Entire classes may use the Student Research Files. Teachers must contact UMKC at least four weeks prior to visiting and are encouraged to attend the Teaching with Documents workshop that is offered by the Truman Library. Students may also independently use the Student Research Files and other materials from the Collection.

Opportunities for Independent Research:

• Anyone with an interest in the Presidency is welcome to use the Collection.

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Contacting the UMKC Libraries

All of the materials comprising the Presidential Studies Collection are available at the Miller Nichols Library on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The online resources are available 24 hours a day. For access in person at the Miller Nichols Library, please check the Website (library.umkc.edu) or call (816) 235-1526 for times. For the Microfilm and Published Sources, no appointment is necessary.

Presidential Studies Collection Online

Information about the Presidential Studies Collection is available online, through www.trumanlibrary.org and library.umkc.edu. Some Student Research Files are available online. Information about the Libraries' other holdings is also available on these Websites. The Truman Library's site includes documents and audiovisual materials that are not part of the Presidential Studies Collection, as well as links to materials from its holdings on the Website of the National Archives and Records Administration (www.nara.gov).

The Future

The library partners continually build and improve access to the Collection, and adjust the services and programs associated with it. The main goal of the Collection is to help everyone who can benefit from an encounter with original historical documents and other materials relating to the Presidents of the United States.

UMKC Miller Nichols Library
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110
(816) 235-1532
library.umkc.edu

Truman Presidential Museum and Library
500 W. Highway 24
Independence, MO 64050
(816) 833-1400
www.trumanlibrary.org

The Presidential Studies Collection at the University of Missouri - Kansas City Libraries
Updated 08/07/01 (rcr)

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