About the National First Ladies' Library
Our Mission
As the first and only facility of its kind, the National First Ladies' Library serves as a unique national resource for patrons from school children to serious scholars. As a national archive devoted to educating people about the contributions of First Ladies and other notable women in history, the Library's holdings fill an informational void that has long frustrated academicians and armchair history buffs alike. The Library fulfills this mission by serving as a physical educational facility and an electronic virtual library, in an effort to educate people in the United States and around the world.
Our Objectives
- Update each year a complete, annotated bibliography developed on First Ladies - from Martha Custis Washington to Laura Welch Bush
- Compile, assemble and produce complete curriculum enrichment units and study guides for classroom students K through 12 on the contributions of First Ladies to American History
- Plan and conduct seminars, workshops and lectures on the role of First Ladies and how it has changed over the centuries
- Collect all the current and out-of-print books by and about First Ladies, as well as films, documentaries and other audio visual materials
- Collect copies of First Ladies' letters, speeches and manuscripts dealing with the major social issues of their time, now scattered throughout the country
Our Accomplishments
- Restore and historically documented all the public rooms located in the family home of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley from the parlor through the kitchen
- Restore and renovated the historic 1895 City National Bank Building, which now serves as a research library and educational center dedicated to the history of First Ladies and notable women in America
- Established the first and only online bibliography of America's First Ladies
- Established the first and only website devoted to the history of America's First Ladies