Museum FAQs

Please contact the Nixon Library Museum Acquisitions Committee by email at:
Nixon.Museum@nara.gov.

Or write to:
Nixon Library Museum Acquisitions Committee
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Please review the following information prior to contacting the Committee:

Thank you for your interest in donating to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.  The Nixon Library continues to acquire materials for its museum collection relating to the life and times of President Nixon.

Donation Requests

If you have items of prospective interest that document the life, career, and legacy of Richard Nixon, please tell us about them by answering the following questions:

1. Please provide an object description of the proposed donation.

2. What is the historical significance of the object? How is it related to Richard Nixon?

3. Please provide provenance information, including all known details of ownership history.

4. What is the condition of your object?

5. What are the dimensions of your object (H" x W" x D")?

6. Please include your preferred contact information (Name, phone number, address, email)?

7. Please include a photo of the object, if possible.

Please submit all donation requests to Nixon.Museum@nara.gov

Next Steps

1. After submitting your donation request, you will be contacted within four weeks after your potential donation has been evaluated by the curator. The curator may also contact you to follow up with additional questions. If your proposed donation fits the criteria of the Nixon Library Museum’s collecting policy, it will be recommended for consideration to the Museum’s acquisitions committee.
2. The Nixon Library's Museum acquisitions committee meets monthly to review donation requests. The committee is comprised of staff members knowledgeable in both the scope of the Museum's collection and the conservation issues associated with artifact care, as well as the policies that govern the acquisition process. Committee decisions also take into consideration the condition of each item to ensure the Museum Department has resources available to properly house and care for the donation. History of ownership and similarity to items already in the Nixon Library Museum’s collection also factor into acquisition decisions.

The Review Process

We generally do not accept the following categories of materials:

• periodicals: newspapers, journals, and magazines (including special editions);
• books (including commemorative books) and personal libraries;
• tributes, poems, songs, or other personal reminiscences of President Nixon or his family;
• mass-produced materials such as inauguration invitations and campaign pamphlets and buttons;
• personal scrapbooks (including newspaper scrapbooks);
• materials that have mold, mildew, pests, or other potentially harmful infestations; or
• organic materials.

The Richard Nixon Library and Museum does not accept unsolicited donations through the mail or in person without your prior submission of a formal donation request and its acknowledgment by Museum staff.  Under no circumstances should you mail any materials to the Library without first contacting the staff; the Nixon Library reserves the right to dispose of unsolicited items.

Typically, the process will take about 8 weeks from the time your completed donation request has been received for the Museum department to review the donation request. If your donation offer is submitted for consideration to the acquisitions committee, a member of the Museum department may contact you to request photos to review. If the item fits the Nixon Library Museum’s collecting criteria, you will hear from a member of the Museum department soon after the acquisitions committee reviews the donation.

All pre-approved donations will be acknowledged formally upon receipt, usually by email. In addition, we may ask you to complete a formal deed of gift confirming your intent to donate the materials free of restrictions. You will also be required to transfer to the United States all copyrights you hold in the materials, making them Public Domain. We do not accept materials for temporary loan or deposit; materials donated to the Nixon Library become the physical property of the United States.

Appraisal Policy

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, as a federal institution, is unable to place value on items; determining valuation is against IRS rules. There are IRS publications related to value and deductions that you might find helpful including Publications 526 Charitable Contributions, Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property, and Form 8283 Noncash Charitable Contributions. Your tax accountant can also provide additional help on how to fill out the proper paperwork.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum cannot purchase, appraise or authenticate historical materials, artwork, or political memorabilia. Should you wish to have your materials appraised, you must do so prior to donating them to the Library.

For information about appraisals and appraiser referrals, you may wish to consult the following websites:

• American Society of Appraisers
• Appraisers Association of America

Donation Purposes

We cannot guarantee that donations will be placed on display, and we are unable to accept donations requiring this stipulation. Only a small fraction of the Library's collection is currently on display. All items accepted serve as valuable resources for research and educational purposes. Uses include special exhibit displays, short-term loans to other approved museums, educational programs, and social media features.  In cases where we have many duplicates of an item, we use them as educational outreach give-away items.

Thank you again for your interest in donating your materials to the Nixon Library and considering us for your donation.

Yes; however, the helicopter may be closed due to inclement weather, including rain, wind, and excessive heat. Please contact us on the day of your visit to inquire of its status.

Please note that interior tours of the helicopter are temporarily  suspended while museum staff work to preserve and maintain the interior of the helicopter. This work is crucial in the preservation of this vital piece of history. Thank you for your understanding.

The 1967 Lincoln Continental limousine used by Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter is currently on loan to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. 

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State Gifts are exchanged between Heads of State. Depending on the nation, the Head of State may be a monarch, president, prime minister, a secretary general, or otherwise titled high-ranking leader. State Gifts are received by U.S. Presidents on behalf of the people of the United States. The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is home to 4,776 State Gifts.

Perhaps the most notable State Gift received by the United States during the Nixon presidency was the gift of two giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, from Chairman Mao Zedong of the People's Republic of China in 1972.

Public Gifts are gifts presented or sent to the President of the United States by non-governmental entities, such as members of the public and public or private organizations, as well as from the people of other nations. Once received, such gifts belong to the American people. More than 30,000 Public Gifts are in the holdings of our museum.