The Barack Obama Presidential Library holds over 600 cubic feet of audiovisual recordings and the 3 million digital photographs created by the White House Photo Office. These holdings predominantly include materials from President Obama's time in the White House. We do not maintain pre-and post-presidential audiovisual records for President Obama. Please contact the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama for these records.
How can I request audiovisual records or see audiovisual records already available for public research?
Audiovisual materials at the Barack Obama Presidential Library are subject to the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements. Anyone may request access to Presidential records not yet available for public research by submitting a written FOIA request. Additional guidance and tips on submitting FOIA requests can be found here.
Photograph contact sheets have been created by the Barack Obama Presidential Library staff to showcase select photographs that have been processed and opened for research. These materials have been processed under the terms of the PRA and FOIA. Photograph contact sheets can be used to request high resolution images of the photographs according to the process for ordering reproductions of audiovisual materials.
Order Photos or Videos
The following steps should be used to order high resolution images of photographs and other audiovisual materials.
- Gather all available information about the image. If possible, find the filename which is the "P" number found in the cation or details. Example: (P051909LJ-0130)
- Provide a specific description of the image, video, or audio clip, including date, location, topic, and if possible, the URL for each web page that contains the requested material.
- Fees will apply. Payment may be made by credit card or check made out to "NATF."
- Email the above information, plus your contact information to include, name, phone number, mailing address AND the format and delivery preference to obama.photos@nara.gov.
- Orders may also be placed by postal mail, phone or fax.
obama.photos@nara.gov (your name in the subject line)
Postal mail
Barack Obama Presidential Library
c/o Audiovisual Archives
2500 W. Golf Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60169-1114
Phone
(847) 252-5731
Fax
(847) 252-5799 (include cover sheet)
Audiovisual Resources
There are many free, easily accessible, resources available for the public to access. The following sites can be used for research on historic photographs, including audio or video materials, in the public domain and available online. These materials do not require permission and/or licensing for use. However, when using these materials please credit "Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library."
- Archived White House Website
- Archived White House “Photos of the Day” slideshows
- Archived White House Flickr Photostream
- Archived White House YouTube Channel
- Archived White House Twitter Feed
- Archived White House Instagram
- Archived White House Facebook Page
- Archived White House Medium Page
- Archived White House Tumblr
- Obama White House Social Media Archive
- The National Archives Catalog