Where can I find the official records or databases listing gifts reviewed for President Obama?
Executive summary
The official public records of gifts given to President Barack Obama are held in federal repositories and searchable through the Barack Obama Presidential Library’s digital artifact collection and the National Archives; the library’s artifact search includes categories for “Domestic Gifts” and “Head of State Gifts” and the Obama Library has publicly released a digital artifact collection that includes those gifts [1] [2] [3]. Contemporary news outlets used those public records — for example State Department and NARA releases cited by BBC, CNN and Newsweek — when reporting high‑value items such as jewel‑encrusted sculptures and Saudi family jewelry that were transferred to the archives [4] [5] [6].
1. Where the official records live: presidential library and National Archives
The definitive public holdings for gifts to President Obama are presented through the Barack Obama Presidential Library’s artifact collection and by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which took custody of gifts when the administration ended; the library’s online catalog exposes collections labeled “Barack Obama Artifact Collection, Domestic Gifts” and “Head of State Gifts” and a searchable digital research room is available [1] [3] [2]. News accounts repeatedly note that the gifts were handed over to NARA for permanent custody and public record [6] [4].
2. How to search these records online
Researchers should use the Obama Presidential Library’s digital research room and artifact search pages. The library runs an artifacts search interface showing item‑level descriptions (for example the Reuge music box entry and collections tagged as “Head of State Gifts” or “Domestic Gifts”), which functions as the working database for artifacts and gifts [3] [1]. The Obama Library’s announcement of its digital artifact collection points users to obamalibrary.gov as the public portal to review gifts and other items [2].
3. What the public records contain — examples and reported values
Public records and contemporaneous reporting list a wide range of diplomatic and personal gifts, from modest framed photos and bicycles to high‑value jewelry and jeweled sculptures. BBC and CNN drew on State Department/NARA disclosures to detail extravagant items such as a jewel‑covered horse sculpture and gold‑plated birds, and cataloged totals for single years exceeding several hundred thousand dollars; CNN reported a $1.5 million haul in one year with much of that attributed to Saudi gifts, and the BBC highlighted a horse sculpture and other items in State Department lists [4] [5]. Newsweek likewise summarized specific high‑value jewelry described in U.S. documents [6].
4. How items are handled under the rules
Federal rules require that gifts to the President and other federal officials be screened and often transferred to government custody; media stories and the library’s materials underline that gifts received during the Obama presidency were reviewed by the White House Gift Unit when incoming and then transferred to NARA after the administration ended [2] [4]. State Department and archive disclosures form the basis for the press inventories referenced in major outlets [4] [5].
5. What reporting shows about personal acceptance vs. government custody
Reporting distinguishes gifts kept personally (rare, and typically only if the recipient pays fair market value) from those accepted on behalf of the United States and placed in archives or museums. BBC and CNN explained that most gifts were turned over to the government and that officials can keep items only by paying the government [4] [5]. The Washington Times reported Office of Government Ethics disclosures about personal gifts accepted during Obama’s final year, indicating some personal items with reported dollar totals [7].
6. Limits, caveats and potential gaps to expect
Public artifact databases and media summaries rely on what NARA and the Presidential Library catalog and what the State Department or Office of Government Ethics disclose; they do not necessarily list every informal token or every internal screening note. The provided sources document database entries and the library portal [3] [2] and show journalistic inventories derived from those records [4] [5] [6], but available sources do not mention internal vetting memos, detailed provenance beyond catalog descriptions, or whether every low‑value domestic gift is indexed online.
7. Practical next steps to obtain records
Start with the Obama Presidential Library artifact search (the digital research room) to pull item‑level records in the “Domestic Gifts” and “Head of State Gifts” collections [3] [1]. Use NARA’s public accession information and the library’s obamalibrary.gov announcement as entry points to the digitized catalog [2]. If you need formal copies or records beyond what’s online, the sources do not mention the precise FOIA/contact procedure here; available sources do not mention specific FOIA instructions, so consult the Obama Library/NARA web pages directly for request procedures [2] [3].