Plan a Research Visit

Important Procedures

Please contact the George W. Bush Presidential Library via email or telephone (214-346-1557) to schedule a virtual orientation and appointment prior to making a research visit. So that Library staff are better able to assist you, appointments must be scheduled 24 hours in advance of visit. Monday appointments must be scheduled no later than the Thursday prior. NOTE: You MUST complete your virtual orientation before an appointment can be scheduled.

Virtual Orientation & Forms

• We highly encourage you to complete your virtual orientation before booking travel to ensure there are open materials regarding your topic.
• You will have a virtual orientation with a National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) staff member by phone, video, and/or email prior to scheduling your research appointment. The orientations will be used to provide researchers with information about NARA’s holdings and are generally scheduled for an hour or less. Please be prepared to discuss your research needs, in as much specificity as possible.
• New researchers must fill out a Researcher Application form and view an orientation video presentation before working with any records. Although some of the procedures in this video are different from what you can expect at the Bush Library, it is a good overview of what it is like to be a researcher at a National Archives facility.
• Review the regulations for using the National Archives. These regulations include information about what researchers may bring into the research room as well as information about how to handle records.
• You will also need to bring your completed Researcher Application form, your signed and dated copy of the Research Room Rules, and your orientation video presentation completion certificate (if you have not already sent in these documents via email).
• New researchers will be issued a researcher identification card. You must have a valid photo ID to obtain a researcher ID card.
• Researcher Application forms are covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. More information about how your application is protected and stored can be found on the National Archives website.

In Addition . . . 

• Use the Finding Aids to view open records currently available for research.
• Some records have been digitized and may be accessed online. They are available through the Records Search.
• You can request up to 12 boxes on a cart at one time. We will not conduct any pulls of new boxes after 2:45 PM daily.
• Researchers do not need to purchase an admission ticket unless they are also visiting Museum. Enter through the Museum entrance, go through the security checkpoint, and report to the Admissions Desk. A clerk will notify an archivist who will escort you to the Research Room.
• Anyone can use the Research Room; you do not need to be a U.S. citizen, or present credentials or a letter of recommendation.
• You must be at least 14 years old to do research, unless you receive special permission or are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• If you have questions about policies or procedures, please contact the Bush Library via email or telephone (214-346-1557).

Security Check

To make your experience safe and enjoyable, be prepared for the Security Check. The George W. Bush Presidential Library is a U.S. Federal agency; weapons are not allowed. Upon entry, all visitors must pass through a security check with a metal detector. All weapons, including guns, knife blades exceeding 2.5" in length, multipurpose tools, and stun-guns, will be confiscated and not returned. All bags are X-rayed, and possibly, searched. Inform the security staff that you are conducting research so your bag may be stowed in a locker in the Researcher Orientation Room. To enter the Research Room, all bags must be stowed in a locker.

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Devices

While in the research room, researchers are encouraged to take pictures and notes using their cell phone, tablet, laptop, or other device.

You may bring a laptop and the plugs for it into the research room, but the cases must remain in a locker that we assign to you.  You may also bring a digital camera, tablet, and/or cell phone with camera capabilities into the research room to take pictures of the documents provided that the flash is turned off.  You may bring in all charging devices and memory cards for the camera into the research room, but again all cases must be placed in your locker.  You may bring a tripod into the research room to aid in taking pictures.  You may bring a scanner into the research room, but please note that we only accept one of two kinds:  a regular flatbed scanner with no Automatic Document Feeding (ADF) capabilities or the MagicWand type portable scanners that have no feeding capabilities and will not harm the documents in any way.  Please note that if Research Room staff determine that a scanner you bring might harm the documents in any way, it will not be allowed in the research room.  Also your cell phone must be turned to vibrate or silent and all calls must be made or taken in our researcher lounge.  We will supply you with all other supplies, such as copy paper and pencils for taking notes.  You are allowed to bring a small number of notes into the research room (i.e., no more than 10 loose sheets of paper), which will be stamped "Library Approved" before you do research.  We are encouraging all researchers to use their own cell phones with camera capabilities to take pictures of the documents; however, if you would like to make physical copies on our Xerox machine, all photocopying must be completed by 3:15 p.m. daily.