This collection consists primarily of correspondence with the general public by First Lady Betty Ford, her children, and her staff. The material concerns views on public issues, expressions of support or criticism, holiday greetings, invitations, schedule requests, and plans, assistance requests and offers, and other matters. The collection is arranged by White House Social Office Central Files file code, thereunder chronologically. A copy of the filing manual is available in the research room.
Oversized attachments found in this series were removed from their original filing location by the White House staff and assigned a number. These attachments are arranged in two groups: oversize attachments and oversize attachments – shelf, thereunder by attachment number.
QUANTITY
94 linear feet (ca. 188,800 pages)
DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (77-NLF-113)
ACCESS
Some folders are open to research, while others are open upon request. Researchers should consult with an archivist prior to their visit in order to request that specific folders be added to the Library’s review-for-access queue. Even after the completion of this review some items may be temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).
COPYRIGHT
Gerald Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.
RELATED MATERIALS
(December 2012)
Individual staff office files document the activities of the First Lady’s staff. These include the files of: Russell Armentrout, Maria Downs, Elizabeth O’Neill, Susan Porter, Frances Pullen, and Sheila Weidenfeld. The Library also holds the personal papers of Betty Ford, Maria Downs, Peter Sorum, and Sheila Weidenfeld (unprocessed).
The White House Social Office maintained several other central filing systems. See collections beginning with “White House Social Office”.
Prepared by J.P. Schmidt, December 2012
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