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Clinton Library Begins Accepting Document RequestsOn January 20, the fifth anniversary of President Clinton’s departure from office, the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, began accepting Freedom of Information Act document requests from researchers interested in the history of the administration. The library houses some 80 million documents, many of which can now be scrutinized after approval by the library’s archivists, the Associated Press reported January 19.Library Director David Alsobrook cautioned that with only 10 archivists to handle requests, the approval process could take months or years. “You’re going to be bitterly disappointed if you’re looking for something immediately,” he said. Further delays could be caused by President Bush’s 2001 executive order allowing incumbent or former presidents to withhold the release of their presidential papers, which would otherwise be made public after 12 years. Clinton has already opened up several hundred thousand pages to the public, but these were mostly domestic policy documents written by White House staffers or the proceedings of certain federal court cases, including a lawsuit over property confiscated from Jewish families by the Nazis in World War II. Meanwhile, the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, released nearly 1.3 million photographs January 20 on the 25th anniversary of President Reagan’s inauguration. The photos cover the entire eight-year span of the Reagan administration. Only some 261,000 photos from 1981 and 1982 were available previously, the Associated Press reported January 20. Posted January 20, 2006. |
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