Welcome to the main page of the Audiovisual Archives at the George Bush Presidential Library. Below, you will find a small sampling of photographs from the library's collection. Presently, the Bush Library houses more than 2,000,000 still photos, 10,000 video tapes, and 1,000 audio tapes that focus on George Bush's career as Vice President (1981-1989) and President (1989-1993). A limited number of photos documenting Mr. Bush's public service and family life prior to 1981 are also available. The Audiovisual Archives also contains photos of Barbara Bush during Mr. Bush's years as Vice President and President.
Researching at the George Bush Presidential Library
If you'd like to schedule a research appointment for Audio-Visual records, please contact photos.bush@nara.gov. Most requests can be handled remotely. Appointments are available to researchers with a valid research card. To request a new research card or renew your research card, please fill out our online request form. You will be required to upload your training certificate from the National Archives Researcher Orientation training.
Research room hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
Contact Sheets
These contact sheets represent 35mm photo negatives in the holdings of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Audiovisual Archives. While researchers may request any photo represented in the contact sheets, it is important to note that not every photo has been digitized from negative, and that some are restricted (see paragraph below). To request a reproduction of a photo, simply identify the photo using the contact sheet number (P number at the bottom of the page) and the frame number (number directly below the photo, and closest to center). For example, the first frame from the third contact sheet would be P00003-01A (some exceptions apply, as in the case of over-sized photos).
Like other types of records, Bush Presidential, Bush Vice Presidential, and Quayle Vice Presidential contact sheets are governed by the provisions of the Presidential Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 2201-2207 and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended). Therefore, records may be restricted in whole or in part (withdrawn or redacted) because they fall within the restrictive categories of the Presidential Records Act or are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. For further information on the availability of the records and audiovisual materials, please contact the Audiovisual Archives.
Finding Aids
The Finding Aids are guides to researching processed (and available) records at the George Bush Presidential Library. Bush Presidential, Bush Vice Presidential, and Quayle Vice Presidential records are governed by the provisions of the Presidential Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 2201-2207 and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended). Therefore, records may be restricted in whole or in part because they fall within the restrictive categories of the Presidential Records Act or are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. For further information on the availability of the records and audiovisual materials, please contact the Audiovisual Archives.
White House TV Guide to Holdings
The White House TV Guide to Holdings summarizes the video collection available for research in the Audiovisual Archives.