<P> In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt donated his personal and presidential papers to the federal government . At the same time, Roosevelt pledged part of his estate at Hyde Park, New York to the United States, and friends of the President formed a non-profit corporation to raise funds for the construction of the library and museum building . Roosevelt's decision stemmed from his belief that Presidential papers were an important part of the national heritage and should be accessible to the public . He asked the National Archives to take custody of his papers and other historical materials and to administer his library . On June 30, 2013, new interactive and multimedia exhibits developed by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) opened to the public as part of the first renovation of this library since its opening . </P> <P> In 1950, Harry S. Truman decided that he, too, would build a library to house his Presidential papers and helped to galvanize congressional action . </P> <P> In 1955, Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955, establishing a system of privately erected and federally maintained libraries . The Act encouraged other Presidents to donate their historical materials to the government and ensured the preservation of Presidential papers and their availability to the American people . Under this and subsequent acts, nine more libraries have been established . In each case, funds from private and non-federal public sources provided the funds to build the library . Once completed, the private organization turned over the libraries to the National Archives and Records Administration to operate and maintain . </P> <P> Until 1978, Presidents, scholars, and legal professionals held the view dating back to George Washington that the records created by the President or his staff while in office remained the personal property of the President and were his to take with him when he left office . The first Presidential libraries were built on this concept . NARA successfully persuaded Presidents to donate their historical materials to the federal government for housing in a Presidential library managed by NARA . </P>

Who pays for presidential libraries to be built