Presidential Libraries of the USA: Historical Discussions and Trends

The study is related to the study of the forms of organization of the formation and preservation of the documentary heritage of the US presidents, and examines historical discussions and modern views on the prospects of organizing the activities of presidential libraries, including the change of a sustainable model, formed in the late 1930s. Today the US Presidential Library System consists of 14 Presidential libraries that are integrated into the Presidential Library System and administered by The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The scientific novelty of the work is the coverage of discussions among American archivists, librarians and politicians which touched various approaches to organization preservation and popularization of the documentary heritage of the presidential power. The article discusses the idea of introducing a new type of presidential library in digital format. Researchers note that presidential library collections lobby parliamentary committees to preserve the traditional system of presidential libraries and prevent its reform. But with the development of information technologies, in the United States a new model of the Presidential Library is emerging, in the form of the forthcoming Obama Presidential Library, ensuring that the documentary information resources of presidency are stored in one place and provided digital access to them through Internet. And also new model reduces the federal budget's costs for maintaining a separate presidential library, since the new building of the new Presidential Library will be fully owned by the Obama Foundation and maintain at its expenses. Today, many countries establish presidential libraries and museums that are intended to preserve Presidents documentary legacies and enable its promotion and research, therefore the American experience is valuable to these countries.