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The Research Room will be closed on Wednesday, December 24; Thursday, December 25; and Friday, December 26, 2025.

The Research Room will close at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. Those wanting to do research on that Wednesday or Friday, January 2, 2026 must have their appointments scheduled by Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. All virtual orientations and researcher paperwork must be completed as well.

Interested in specific topics? Topic guides combine resources from the  Archives, as well as museum and audiovisual collections, the Archived White House Website, and more to help students, researchers, educators, and others focus on materials for their areas of interest. Each topic page includes an Archival Research Guide. Topics include the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, Presidential Briefing Papers, Presidential Daily Diary, First Lady's Foreign Trips, Hurricane Katrina, and more. Check back for new topic guides as more materials are processed and digitized.

President George W. Bush Signs a Proclamation Designating February as American Heart Month in the Oval Office on February 1, 2005.
President George W. Bush signs a Proclamation designating February as American Heart Month in the Oval Office on February 1, 2005. (P44381-076) View in the National Archives Catalog

September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks

On the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists hijacked four airplanes perpetrating a series of attacks that killed 2,977 people.

Presidential Briefing Papers

President George W. Bush used the Presidential Briefing Papers as a guide for his working day.

Presidential Daily Diary

The President’s Daily Diary (PDD) is the official day-by-day record of every moment of George W. Bush’s eight years as President.