PUBLIC
RELATIONS (PR)
[PR
– PR-13]
Subject
categories and sub-categories fully available for research are bolded. Closed categories and
sub-categories have a simple phrase describing their contents.
DESCRIPTION
OF SECONDARY FILE CODES
File
Code Description
PR Public Relations
(0.2 ft; box 1)
A secondary subject category containing correspondence from
the public, friends of the President, and members of Congress. Letters concern general support, or inform
the President/staff of views on ongoing projects.
PR001 Administration Appreciation
Letters (3.3 ft;
A
secondary subject category containing letters of appreciation to and from the
public, entertainment figures, businesspeople, sports figures, members of
Congress, state officials, White House staff, individuals involved in events,
organizations, and campaigns of the Administration, SES personnel, personnel in
agencies, departments, the Executive residence, and Schedule C personnel.
PR002 Administration
Complaints-Criticism (0.3 ft;
A secondary subject category containing criticisms of
Administration policies (both foreign and domestic), from the public and from
Congress.
Examples include criticism of education policies, the deficit, taxes,
care for the poor, and treatment of veterans.
PR003 Administration Support
(7.4 ft;
A
secondary subject category containing messages of support sent to the President
and his staff from the public, friends, relatives, schoolchildren, members of
Congress, state and local officials, and businessmen. Includes messages of general support, support
of foreign and domestic policies, support for his re-election, congratulations
on his election victory, offers of assistance to the Administration, and
support of his two-term Presidency.
PR004 Anonymous - Illegible
Communications (0.1 ft;
A
secondary subject category containing messages and letters from anonymous
correspondents concerning personal hardship cases, requests for assistance,
contributions from donors, and emigration to the
PR005 Autographs - Photographs
(3.1 ft;
A secondary subject category containing requests for
photographs and autographed photographs of the President, First Lady, Cabinet
members, and the White House from the public and members of Congress on behalf
of constituents.
Includes requests to autograph citations, military commissions, and
photo schedule proposals; photograph sessions with the President.
PR005-01 Autograph
granted, Presidential (23.7 ft; boxes 36-95)
A
secondary subject category containing correspondence regarding Presidential
autograph and photograph requests granted by the administration. Includes requests for photos and autographs
of the President, First Lady, and cabinet members; sample mail answered by
inscribed photos; handwritten responses from the President; requests for
photograph sessions; and requests for specific photos from members of Congress
on behalf of their constituents, general public, acquaintances of the President
and First Lady, and foreign dignitaries.
PR005-02 Handwriting -
Holographs, Presidential (0.1 ft;
A secondary subject category containing requests for
drawings by the President, handwritten signatures, and signatures for photos
from collectors, and the public.
PR006 Contests - Essays (0.6 ft;
A
secondary subject category containing correspondence regarding children's
essays, essay contest winners, essays on foreign and domestic issues, and
acknowledgments of various contest winners.
PR007 Engagements-Appointments-Interviews
(22.4 ft; boxes 1-56)
A
secondary subject category containing information pertaining to requests, both
granted and declined (primarily decline), for appointments and interviews with
the President, as well as the First Lady and the Vice President; including
requests from congressmen, senators, members of the press, special interest
groups, school groups, sports teams, senior citizens groups, beauty pageant
winners, celebrities from sports or the entertainment industry; as well as
requests from various groups for the President to attend or speak at
conventions, meetings, luncheons, dinners or other types of events.
PR007-01 Presidential
Appointments-Granted (12.8 ft;
A secondary subject category containing material pertaining
to appointments, meetings, and activities of the President, the Vice President
and the First Lady. Items include Schedule Proposals; Approved
Presidential Activities; Block Schedules; Long-Term Scheduling Proposals;
Agenda; Itineraries; Daily, Weekly and Monthly Schedules; Schedules of Foreign
Visitors; Requests for appointments; correspondence and memoranda regarding
meeting topics; scheduling strategy; background information; transcripts of
meetings including memorandum of conversations; statistical reports regarding
the frequency of Presidential meetings with various constituencies; Office of
Public Liaison Weekly Schedules; documentation regarding the Presidential Diary
System and the President's yearly desk calendars. At the end of the administration, copies of
the President's schedules for January 1981 - May 1983 and for January 1989 were
transferred to the Office of Records Management as a block. Many of these schedules contain notations of
changes which should also be reflected in the Presidential Daily Diary.
The
Library has transferred some material, originally filed in this category by the
Office of Records Management, to the following staff member and office file
collections: U.S. Secret Service:
Presidential Movement Logs; U.S. Secret Service: F-1 (Residence) Logs;
Presidential Daily Diary; and the Arthur B. Culvahouse
Collection.
PR007-02 Presidential
Telephone Calls (11.6 ft.;
A
secondary subject category containing information pertaining to Presidential
telephone calls, including background, topics of discussion and memorandums for
calls to congressmen and senators regarding pending legislation on such issues
as the MX missile, B-1 bomber, foreign economic and military aid, aid to the
Nicaraguan contras, tax reform acts, budget legislation and calls regarding
nominations of judges and individuals for positions in the administration;
requests from congressman, senators, and the general public for congratulatory
telephone calls, birthday and get well greetings, and condolence calls.
This
category contains many examples of President Reagan's handwritten notes and
comments regarding the telephone calls he made.
Presidential
telephone logs covering the eight years of the Reagan Administration are also
contained in this category. Within the
individual folders, the logs are arranged in reverse chronological order and
are located in the following containers:
Container Nos. Date Span for Telephone
Logs
Container 8 01/20/81
- 06/06/81
Container 9 06/07/81
- 04/11/82
Container 10 04/12/82
- 01/23/83
Container 11 01/24/83
- 10/18/83
Container 12 10/19/83
- 12/31/83
Container 16 01/01/84
- 03/24/84
Container 17 03/24/84
- 12/21/84
Container 18 12/22/84
- 10/25/85
Container 19 10/26/85
- 12/03/85
Container 24 01/01/86
- 07/18/86
Container 25 07/19/86
- 04/30/87
Container 26 05/01/87
- 3/31/88
Container 27 04/01/88
- 01/18/89
PR008 Exhibits - Fairs - Expositions (1.7 ft.; boxes 1-5)
A
secondary subject category containing information pertaining to Federal
Government participation in major and minor exhibitions and expositions,
including U.S. participation in the 1982 Knoxville Energy Exposition, the 1984
New Orleans World's Exposition, and the site selection for a proposed World's
Fair in 1992. Also includes requests for
the President to participate in exhibits and expositions.
PR009 Graphics (0.1 ft.;
A
secondary subject category containing posters, graphs, charts and other artwork
submitted to the President or created by the Federal Government.
PR010 Lists of Names - Mailing Lists (0.8 ft.;
A
secondary subject category containing lists of names compiled by White House
staff for particular events or subject areas, requests to be added to or
deleted from White House mailing lists, and invitation lists for White House
events.
PR011 Motion Pictures - Film Strips
- Recordings
(21 ft; boxes 7-59)
A
secondary subject category containing information pertaining to requests for
the President to make video or audio recordings; to appear in or endorse films,
radio programs, and television programs; to make public service announcements;
requests to film on the White House grounds; requests for the President or the
White House staff to view audio and video recordings sent to the White House by
the general public, organizations, media groups, and other government offices;
and similar requests for the First Lady.
PR012 Pens - Ceremonial (2.4 ft; boxes 1-6)
A
secondary subject category containing information pertaining to the President
presenting ceremonial signing pens; Congressional requests for pens used by the
President in signing legislation; requests from the general public for any pen
used by the President; type of pen used; and procedures for the provision of
pens.
PR013 Petitions - Resolutions -
Multiple Signatures
(12.4 ft.; boxes
1-31)
A
secondary subject category containing material documenting the reception and
handling of petitions, mass mailings, resolutions, and notifications of
resolutions, mostly from nongovernmental bodies. Sources include chambers of commerce,
business and agricultural alliances, political organizations, religious and
ethnic associations, veterans groups, student/academic bodies, and,
infrequently, state legislatures and Congress.
Some incoming material addressed ongoing policy areas such as the
economy, crime, foreign relations (including the nuclear freeze movement and
the Vietnam POW/MIA issue), civil rights, immigration, and the
environment. Other frequent subjects
were headline events such as the shooting down of KAL Flight 007 (1983) and the
President's trip to Bitburg (1985); AIDS; and
Iran-Contra. Also represented are various
matters of narrow or local interest, including pardon requests.
PR013-01 Petitions -
Resolutions from State Officials
(4.9 ft.; boxes
32-44)
A
secondary subject category containing material relating to the White House's
reception and handling of resolutions, petitions, mass mailings, and related
materials sent from (and usually created by) agencies representing states,
possessions, commonwealths, trust territories, or regions. Such agencies were usually legislatures,
political organizations, agricultural groups, or business associations. Topics included: agricultural, trade, economic, and
environmental issues; federal projects or designations in a given state; the
status of U.S. possessions and trust territories; headlining issues, such as
human rights abroad, nuclear proliferation, and the Vietnam POW/MIA
controversy; and ceremonial condolences, commemorations, and expressions of
support. Many of the topics, especially
those of nationwide interest, are also located in PR013 and PR013-02.
PR013-02 Petitions -
Resolutions from Local Government
Official
(6.4 ft.; boxes 44-59)
A
secondary subject category containing material documenting the White House's
reception and handling of resolutions, mass mailings, petitions, and related
materials which originated with, or were sent by, local organizations. These local organizations were usually
governmental, political, or religious.
Predominant topics were: federal
financial aid to localities, as through block grants or General Revenue
Sharing; local federal projects, facilities, and land-use designations, either
established or proposed; human rights abroad, the Vietnam POW/MIA controversy,
nuclear arms, Social Security, and other national issues; and calls for
commemorative acts, such as the renaming of a local structure. Many of the topics, especially those drawn
from headline events (such as the shooting down of KAL Flight 007), are also
located in PR013 and PR013-01.