Libraries of the World: The George W. Bush Presidential Library to become the public center

The design of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at the Southern Methodist University (SMU), which will be formally unveiled today, is a showcase for exhibits, not a monument to the 43rd president, Laura Bush said.

In an exclusive interview with “The Dallas Morning News”, Bush described an active year of planning the design for a 225,000-square-foot building to house her husband's presidential papers. Bush said the library center, which will include a museum and a policy institute, will not be a shrine.

This is going to be a modern brick building. The limestone at the base of the building is from Midland, where the Bushes met and married. The land south of the library building will be reminiscent of a prairie, not unlike 50 acres of native prairie the Bushes have reclaimed on their Crawford ranch in California.

The library includes space for permanent and temporary exhibits, and a small auditorium. There will also be classrooms and offices for fellows at the Bush Institute. Both the former president and his wife will have office space upstairs, along with a dining and living area for entertaining museum guests.

The National Archives will operate the library and museum. The Bush Foundation will operate the institute, which will host visiting scholars, conduct research and convene seminars.

The construction of the George W. Bush Presidential Library will start in a year and is planned to be completed by 2013.