Introduction
The groundbreaking initiative we are announcing today is the first of its kind in the nation…Because of this historical initiative, millions of documents, miles of film, and hundreds of thousands of photographs from President Kennedy’s administration will be scanned, digitized, indexed and permanently preserved. More importantly, they will be available to all citizens of the world – not just the scholars and researchers who make the journey to Boston.
-- Senator Edward M. Kennedy, June 9, 2006
"Access to a Legacy" is a public-private partnership between the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. The objectives are to digitize, index and retain permanently millions of presidential documents, photographs and audiovisual recordings; provide online accessibility to a worldwide audience; search collections using metadata; protect historical assets through remote replication; and minimize wear and tear on irreplaceable physical assets.