Gerald R. Ford Library

This is a tertiary site to the National Archives and Records Admnistration’s (NARA) main Ford Presidential Library located in Grand Rapids. There are brochures here describing the main NARA library. This place is where presidential papers are stored and its primary function is to support researching historians, journalists, and other head-​scratchers. There are some display cases of presidential ephemera including clothing worn by First Lady, Betty Ford. Admission is free. Wheelchair access is easy.
This facility is located on the University of Michigan grounds. President Ford attended University of Michigan as an undergraduate. There is an office occupied by President Ford in the days after his term. Visitors can gawk through the glass at his desk, and a glass-​walled conference room used by the late President.
There is a helpful security person behind a counter. Based on a calibrated ear, the University has an upper-​crust, voted, Motorola UHF two-​way radio system. Ask the person at the counter whether or not you need a parking permit if you visit during the academic year. You can probably see all of the lobby displays in 30 – 45 minutes.

That this library is small is not surprising considering the brief term of the Ford administration. What was surprising is that it’s essentially housed within a pro shop on the library’s golf course. Here’s how it works.
When you pay your greens fees, you are given a surplus commemorative Whip Inflation Now (WIN) button.
Random assassins hiding in the bushes attempt to cut short your round. Don’t go on this course unarmed.
This course has a special rule known as the Panmunjom rule. If a tree is in the way of your shot, you have the right to chop it down, while the other members of your foursome are handed AK-​47s and have the option to try to stop you. The course provides the rule invoker with a radio to call in a B-​52 airstrike and a platoon of Marines for ground cover. To-​date, many trees have been chopped down without incident.
When you return to the clubhouse, you are given a blanket pardon for any rules violations or scorecard exaggerations you may or may not have committed.
There is a lot of uneven ground on the premise, presenting a tripping danger as parodied by Chevy Chase. Playing a round of golf at the Ford library is like no other course.

2 years ago I was writing an extensive paper on civil rights and the right from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. I spent more than a little while in Gerry’s Library. It was a fun experience. For security reasons, you must fill out an application and be approved in order to enter the archives. Then they issue you an ID badge and a parking pass. You cannot bring any supplies with you, and they force you to take notes on their own 4×6 note-​cards and with their own pencils. It was empty whenever I was there, but apparently scholars of history and law are in the library quite a bit. With the silence and solitude and heavy research and orange carpeting, I sort of zoned out and felt like I fell into 1977.

Did you know we had a Presidential Library? Wow! Unlike SOME presidential libraries that are tainted by misdeeds of one sort or another, this one wasn’t controversial. What’s not to like about Gerry Ford?