A Preview of Our 15th Presidential Library – Pieces of History

Today’s post comes from Matthew Green, an archivist at the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library in College Park, Maryland. The Library’s records are closed to researchers until January 2026 but today we are previewing some of the records in the Library’s collection.

Established in 2021, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library currently administers records from his first term. It is the 15th Presidential Library to be established and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.  

West Wing Collection A and West Wing Collection B files, two series in the Records of the White House Office of Records Management Collection, are particularly diverse and unique.

One highlight from West Wing A files is President Trump’s 2017 inaugural address along with the leather binder he used at the podium. The files also contain greeting cards from foreign heads of state for Christmas and birthdays, including a Christmas card from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip and a birthday note from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The series also includes various addresses and speeches the President made throughout his administration.  

Many of the printed speeches are contained within a plastic Mylar sleeve, some of which have permanent marker edits on them from the President. Other notable records include letters from former Presidents, such as recently deceased President Jimmy Carter regarding Sudan, and West Wing guest books signed by foreign heads of state visiting the White House.

Calligraphy Office products in West Wing Collection A include booklets for White House staff holiday parties, greeting cards for visiting heads of state, and menus for state dinners and lunches. Other events with Calligraphy Office–designed materials include receptions for Medal of Honor recipients and the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardoning.

The West Wing Collection B files have a different scope. Air Force One maps from President Trump’s trips abroad contain the routes, destinations, and dates for each of the trips as well as the President’s signature.

Items from both series have been transferred to the museum collections, which include objects used by the President or members of his administration as well as gifts to the President. When objects are found with textual records, archival staff often move them to museum collections so that they can be individually cataloged. In addition, keeping objects with textual records could damage the records, the objects, or both.

For example, West Wing Collection A files contained numerous pens used to sign executive orders on topics such as immigration and the economy and bullet shell casings from the President’s visit to a Secret Service facility where he fired a gun. 

These two series contain fascinating material, but there’s so much more awaiting the researcher once these files are released next year.

To learn more about the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, visit our website.