Ever since Zachary Taylor and the Whig Party won the White House more than 150 years ago, AP reporters and photographers have been the dominant source of presidential news for media across the U.S. and around the world. For a limited time, the Carter Presidential Museum is displaying 70 photographs of American Presidents from the archives of The Associated Press. Among the photos are Pulitzer Prize winning images, as well as fascinating candid shots of Presidents at work and play. “The American President: Photographs from the Archives of The Associated Press” will be available for viewing from Saturday, May 11, 2013 through Sunday, July 21, 2013. Take a look at a sampling of images on our Facebook page.

The American President Exhibit at the Carter Museum

This exhibit is free with paid admission to the museum. Directions and admission information are available on our website. (Admission may be purchased on-site or online.) For the most up-to-date details regarding events at the Carter Library & Museum, please visit us online.

“Pinterest is a content sharing service that allows members to ‘pin’ images, videos, and other objects to their pinboards…” -Social Media and Digital Engagement at the National Archives

According to an announcement that went out on the National Archives Facebook page yesterday, “OurPresidents” on Pinterest is a space that allows you to follow the individual boards for “…iconic and unusual images of our last thirteen Presidents and First Ladies.” (Announcements also went out on OurPresidents Twitter and Tumblr–there are just so many ways to keep up with Presidential Libraries!)

Rosalynn Carter and Betty Ford at the Carter Inauguration, 01/20/1977

Amy Carter and Jimmy Carter participate in a speed reading course at the White House, 02/22/1977

Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter and Amy Carter with Marcel Marceau, 06/16/1977

Jimmy Carter in the White House Library during a Televised Fireside Chat on Energy, 02/02/1977

What better time is there than now to recognize the roles that museums play in our communities, especially with all of the recent excitement surrounding Presidential Libraries & Museums (i.e. the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.) My National Archives colleagues behind the blog, Prologue, have also created a wonderful overview of Presidential Library and Museum dedications–check it out in honor of National Museum Month!

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum hopes that you’ll be able to make visiting us part of your plans this month. Again this year, the Carter Presidential Museum will participate in the Blue Star Museums program, which offers free admission for active-duty military and their immediate family members from May 27 (Memorial Day) to September 2 (Labor Day) of 2013.

In addition to Presidential Museums, I personally could spend hours (and I have) at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Which museums are your favorite ones to visit?

Rotunda showcasing the “Day in the Life of The President” video at the Carter Museum

“Destination Station” with Martha Hess
Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 10:00am
Take an exciting look at the International Space Station with a NASA Professional, Martha Hess. She’s an expert on NASA and NASA strategic opportunities. Fun for the whole family. (Note: The astronaut originally scheduled will not be able to attend.) Want to learn more about NASA’s “Destination: Station?” Check out NASA’s website on “Destination: Station.”

Until I Say Goodbye: My Year Of Living With Joy
Bret Witter
Reading/Book Signing
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 7:00pm

In Love with Defeat: The Making of a Southern Liberal
Brandt Ayers
Reading/Book Signing
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 7:00pm

A History of Prejudice: Race, Caste, and Difference in India and the United States
Gyanendra Pandey
Lecture
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 7:00pm

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. The above events take place in the Museum Theater. For up-to-date details about events, please visit us online. Directions are available online.

Jimmy Carter with grandson Jason Carter at the White House Easter Egg Roll, 04/11/1977

The Jimmy Carter Library & Museum hopes that all those celebrating Easter this Sunday, March 31st, have a wonderful holiday! The Carter Museum will be open on the 31st from noon to 4:45pm. We encourage you to plan your visit online.

As you can see in the above image, President Carter enjoyed the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll with his grandson, Jason Carter, back in April of 1977. Have you ever wondered about how the tradition of the Easter Egg Roll at the White House came to be? If so, check out this article from Prologue, a publication of the National Archives. You might be surprised at how this tradition has evolved! You can find out more about the 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll online. In the meantime, have an eggs-cellent weekend!

President Carter bust carved by Ulysses Davis

Our latest rotating exhibit, “Patriot Expressions: Ulysses Davis’ Presidents from The Beach Institute and Works from the Carter Library” is still on display at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum and will be through Sunday, April 21, 2013. Viewing the exhibit is free with paid admission to the Museum

Ulysses Davis was a barber in West Savannah, Georgia. He cut hair for nearly fifty years and when business was slow at his barbershop, Davis whittled and carved wooden sculptures, including all of the U.S. Presidents through George H.W. Bush. The Carter Presidential Museum is proud to host this wonderful collection of busts of the Presidents, along with works in the Museum’s own collection.

We invite those of you in or near the Atlanta area to pay us a visit, especially while this delightful exhibit is still here! Directions to the Museum are available online.

We are ready to SPRING forward! (How about you?)

Grounds in front of the Carter Museum

On December 15, 1973, President Nixon gave a Statement on Signing the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973–it’s interesting to see some of the responses Daylight Saving Time has received since then! You can view the text of the statement at The American Presidency Project.

Using the National Archive’s Online Public Access, I found that the Carter Library has documents pertaining to the topic. In response to Georgians writing letters of concern and protest regarding the time change in the winter, Max Cleland writes the following in January of 1974:

“Thank you so very much for your concern about the present shift to daylight saving time in the Winter months.

I bitterly oppose this move. I think it creates a hardship on school children and working people and I will do everything in my power to reverse this decision. [...]

I want you to know that I am most interested in seeking a solution to this situation. I think it is an unnecessary hardship which the average person in our State and in our country has to bear. The general Accounting Office in Washington says that shifting to daylight saving time during the Winter months will save only slightly less that 1% of our energy. I believe that until there are cuts made elsewhere in energy the school children and working people in our State should not have to suffer. I strongly believe that daylight saving time should not be in effect anywhere in the country during the school months.”

The above passage comes from textual documentation located in a file entitled “Daylight Savings Time” [National Archives Identifier 5717407] in the Senate Papers of the Max Cleland Papers here at the archives of the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum. This series of textual documents consists of correspondence to and from Max Cleland from various states and counties in Georgia. Also included are summaries of major legislation that passed the House and Senate during the 1974 Georgia General Assembly. In addition, this series contains a draft report of the establishment of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Cleland served as director of the Veterans Administration during President Carter’s administration.

Regardless of your feelings on the topic of Daylight Saving Time, we  hope that you’ll have a great TIME visiting the Library and Museum.

“The Corpus Christi Summer School in British and American Intelligence and Security provides in-depth teaching in UK and US intelligence & security programmes from the reign of Elizabeth I to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The three week summer school is based in the medieval setting of Corpus Christi College, founded in 1352, one of the oldest of the 31 historic colleges forming the University of Cambridge.

The programme offers an exciting opportunity to study in England and will be of interest to students of history, politics and international relations. The course includes a number of visits in the company of expert lecturers to many famous sites associated with intelligence practice in the UK, including the wartime code and cipher school at Bletchley Park, the home of Colossus (the world’s first semi-programmable electronic computer), the Cabinet War Rooms, the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and the Imperial War Museum in London.” -ACE Foundation

The closing date for applications is March 28, 2013.

Details regarding the college, courses, lecturers, academic credits, cost, eligibility, scholarships, and how to apply can be found on the ACE Foundation’s website.

James Callaghan, Prime Minister of England, and Jimmy Carter, 3/10/1977

A new original series from C-SPAN, First Ladies: Influence & Image, debuted on February 18, 2013, President’s Day. The series will run from February 2013 to February 2014 in two seasons. (See C-SPAN’s website for the TV Schedule.)

“C-SPAN is producing a two-year feature series on the First Ladies, examining their private lives and the public roles they played in the White House. Produced in cooperation with the White House Historical Association, each week “First Ladies: Influence and Image” will feature the women who served in the role of First Lady over 44 administrations. This project is the first of its kind –a comprehensive biography series on all of the First Ladies produced for television.

C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association also will collaborate on a video-rich website to accompany the series. The interactive site will feature historic letters, documents and photographs, classroom resources, biographies, recordings, as well as additional resources.”  -C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence & Image

While First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s episode does not show until December, we did want to go ahead and spotlight C-SPAN’s information page dedicated to her. It includes biographical information and several pertinent video clips related to the Carters.

Since December is a bit away, be sure to check out the Jimmy Carter Library’s website for information about Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in the meantime! Another great resource is The Carter Center’s website.

Early portrait of Rosalynn Carter at about age 17

Creating Room to Read by John Wood
February 14, 2013 at 7:00pm
Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater
“This is the inspirational story of a former Microsoft executive’s quest to build libraries around the world and share the love of books.”

Other remaining author lectures/book signings in February are as follows:

Insane City by Dave Barry
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 7:00pm
Carter Center Day Chapel

Houses of the Presidents: Childhood Homes, Family Dwellings, Private Escapes, and Grand Estates by Hugh Howard
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 7:00pm
Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater

The Books That Mattered: A Reader’s Memoir… by Frye Gaillard
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 7:00pm
Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater

Book events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Please always visit us online for the most up to date information regarding our events and additional details on the books to be discussed. Directions can be found online. We do hope that you will be able to pay us a visit!

These events have me thinking… If the focus of February is often thought of as being about Love, then why not a love of books (and book events!) We’d love to know…what books or authors have had an impact on your life?