The American Presidency Project

The yearly list of “Best Free Reference Web Sites” always provides me with new tools for my research arsenal. Each year, a national committee, comprised of librarians, reviews and evaluates web sites based on criteria, such as quality, depth, and ease of use. One in particular from 2009’s list seems appropriate to share with our readers, especially for the month of February: The American Presidency Project.

John Woolley and Gerhard Peters, both of the University of California, Santa Barbara, launched The American Presidency Project web site in 1999. The site’s searchable archive contains over 87,000 historical documents, such as executive orders, proclamations, speeches, and transcripts from press conferences. In addition to historical documents, the site also provides current information, such as President Obama’s approval ratings. Along with fully transcribed speeches and full-text documents, users can access audio and video files of notable speeches.

Take advantage of the project’s free access to documents, data, and analyses for your Presidential information needs. You’ll find information from George Washington’s inaugural address to Abraham Lincoln’s preliminary Emancipation Proclamation to “Obama in Action: 320 Days” (an American Presidency Project exclusive analysis).

- Anna, Hopewell Branch