Plan a Research Visit

Research Room Hours

Monday - Friday by appointment only, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm 
Closed Saturday, Sunday, and Federal holidays 

We do not give tours of the Library's Research Room and non-public areas of the facility.

Before Your Visit

• Please contact the Library via email or telephone (214-346-1557) to schedule an appointment prior to making a research visit so staff are better prepared to assist you. Appointments must be scheduled by 3:00pm if wishing to visit the next business day.
• 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 NARA staff member by phone, video, and/or email prior to 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Researchers do not need to purchase an admission ticket unless they are also visiting Museum.
• 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.
• New researchers will be issued a researcher identification card. You must have a valid photo ID to obtain a researcher ID card.

Health Self-Assessment: 

Everyday that researchers come for a research appointment, they are encouraged to answer the four questions below prior to arrival at the facility:

1. Have you experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 in the past 48 hours?
2. Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19 (with or without symptoms), are you currently waiting on the results of a COVID-19 test due to an exposure or symptoms, or has a health care provider advised you to stay at home or otherwise self-isolate?
3.  Are you a person who is not fully vaccinated, who has been in close physical contact (within 6 feet for longer than 15 minutes) with a person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days?
4. Are you a person who is not fully vaccinated, who has traveled out of the State or region, or out of the country in the past 10 days (with no COVID test) or in the past 7 days (if you have been tested since returning)?

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, please do not come to a NARA facility. Please seek medical attention, and contact library staff to let them know that you answered "yes" to one or more of the questions, so your research appointment can be rescheduled.

What To Expect When You Arrive

• Enter through the Museum entrance, go through the security checkpoint, and report to the Admissions Desk. A clerk will notify an archivist who will help you begin your research.
• New researchers must fill out a researcher application form and view an orientation presentation before working with any records. 
• 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.
• After the paperwork is completed, the archivist on duty will show you the Finding Aids and discuss the procedures for requesting records.
• Although some of the procedures in this video are different from what you can expect at the George W. Bush Presidential Library, it is a good overview of what it is like to be a researcher at a National Archives facility.
• If you have questions about policies or procedures, please contact the Library via email or telephone (214-346-1557).

Copy Fees 

Only checks and credit cards accepted. 

• Self-Service Photocopies (standard size) - 25¢ per page
• Self-Service Photocopies (oversize) - 50¢ per page
• Photocopy orders or scanning of records completed by NARA Staff - 80¢ per page
• CD of images from digital camera - $5 per CD

Citation Guidelines

Follow these guidelines for citations for records retrieved from the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Security Check

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To make your experience safe and enjoyable, be prepared for the Security Check. The 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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