The National Museum of American History Library Endowment was the result of the Libraries’ Price of Freedom Event in 2005. More than 300 guests attended the event in the museum, where noted presidential historian Michael Beschloss was the keynote speaker. Mr. Beschloss spoke on the topic of “What History Can Tell Us About Our Own Time.”
During the evening, Beschloss brought tales from the presidency, particularly that of Lyndon B. Johnson, vividly to life. He repeatedly emphasized the importance of libraries and their positive and vital impact on his own career as a presidential biographer and political commentator. His often humorous stories, gleaned while spending countless hours in libraries researching his subjects, were in dramatic counterpoint to his parting comments about the artifacts and printed records from 9/11 kept at American History Museum and its Library, “That gives you an idea of what artifacts in context with the help of a great history museum and a great library can do.”
Funds from this endowment are used to purchase new books and research databases for the American History Library.