This building was erected through gifts from American citizens of all walks of life, the generosity of the City of Independence, and the contractors who built it to preserve the papers of President Harry S. Truman and to further the study of free government and the participation of the United States in world affairs. Harry S. Truman said the library would belong to the people of the United States, that his papers would be their property and accessible to them, and that presidential papers, as among the most valuable sources for history, ought to be preserved and used.
