In 1978, partly in response to questions around the ownership and disposal of President Richard Nixon's presidential papers, Congress enacted the Presidential Records Act. (PRA)
This legislation altered a long tradition of treating Presidential records as the personal property of the President. This Act stated any records generated during a Presidential administration documenting the constitutional, statutory or ceremonial duties of the Presidency are the property of the United States. Material is to be turned over to the Archivist of the United States at the end of the Administration for transfer to a Presidential Materials Project and final transfer to a Presidential Library archival storage area.
The new law significantly altered the way the general public access presidential materials. A set of restrictions were applied to the records based loosely on standard Freedom of Information Act restrictions. Material could be closed to the public for national security reasons, personal privacy, protection of the President, and more significantly for confidential advice between the President and his advisors or between his advisors. The President has the option to choose up to 12 years to apply these restrictions. So far, no sitting President has allotted less than the full 12 years.
In addition to this change in access, the Act also stated that all Presidential material would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) five years after the accessioning of the material to the archives. Libraries continue limited systematic archival processing of material for public availability, but most material is made available to the public via "on demand" FOIA requests.
While the Presidential Records Act was enacted in 1978, it was not retroactive for the Jimmy Carter Administration. The Reagan Presidential Library was the first Presidential Library to operate under the new law. The Reagan Presidential Library was also the first to move from the 12-year PRA restrictions into a fully FOIA environment.
Procedures and policies have changed over the years of being the first Library to apply and work with this new environment. Please check with an archivist if you have any questions on prior documentation of these procedures and policies.