Welcome
to the Archive
The Robert J. Dole Archive at the University of Kansas is one of the nation's most significant
collections of papers and artifacts relating to politics in the
20th Century.
The Archive contains materials documenting
Senator Dole's remarkable career of public service which spanned
35 years on Capitol Hill (1961-1996) and continues to his present
roles in the World War II Memorial Commission, Families of Freedom
Scholarship Co-Chair, and as the author of One Soldier's Story:
A Memoir.
The Institute houses, preserves and
makes available (subject to restrictions) Senator Dole's House
of Representatives papers, Senate papers, and post-Senate papers.
The related papers and oral histories of Dole staffers (over 900
individuals between 1961 and 1996) and other close associates
who played an important part in Senator Dole's career and campaigns
are included in the collection.
The Archive is comprised of almost
4,000 boxes of papers, 25,000 photographs, and several thousand
artifacts, all housed on over two miles of steel archival shelving
in the lower level of the Dole Institute of Politics. Senator
Dole's extensive legislative career and his many leadership roles
in the Republican Party make this collection among the largest
groupings of one politician's papers outside of the presidential
library system.
The terms under which The University
of Kansas acquired the Dole gift will determine when each record
group becomes open and available to researchers. Senator Dole's
House of Representatives papers, House and Senate press releases,
all speeches, broadcasts and photographs are processed and available
for research use.
State-of-the-art environmental controls, such as intrusion detection
systems and water, smoke, and fire detection equipment, were incorporated
into the building's mechanical design. These protection systems
ensure the continued safekeeping and availability of the collections.
Researchers work with original documents
in the Reading Room on the main level of the building. Resources
available to the public in the Reading Room include:
