Battle For Obama Library Officially Begins With Call For Proposals

The Obama Foundation has officially sounded its call for proposals for the future Presidential Library, essentially marking the true beginning of the battle between cities and universities to land the prestigious institution. Yesterday, the Foundation released its "Request for Qualifications" which outlines the requirements for the Barack Obama Presidential Library, or "OPL", and some of the details are a bit surprising. First of all, submissions must make room for all of Obama's stuff that he has collected along the way, including room for over 25,000 cubic feet of documents, 804 cubic feet of audiovisual records and 15,000 cubic feet of artifacts. So, basically the OPL is going to be quite large.

The Foundation does express a strong interest in technology and sustainability, and suggests that the library should exceed LEED Platinum standards and also be accessible by multiple modes of transportation. The document contained a lot of fluff, and left many of specifications for the library intentionally vague, but either way, this thing is going to be pretty spendy. However, with Chicago's powers combined, the city could make the Obama Presidential Library and Museum the Windy City's next showpiece for the South Side.
· A request for qualifications for hosting the Barack Obama Presidential Library [Obama Foundation]
· UofC Seeking Partners For A South Side Obama Library Bid [Curbed Chicago]
· Previous Obama Presidential Library coverage [Curbed Chicago]