George Washington Finally Gets a Presidential Library

Pretty cool: George Washington is finally getting what so many other presidents already have—a presidential library. The 45,000-square-foot library, which will be erected at a cost of $106.4 million that was ponied up by 7,000 donors, is slated to open Sept. 27 at Mount Vernon. But the nation's first prez will have to share top billing: The library is to be called the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, a nod to the man who helped direct millions toward the effort by way of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, which he chairs.

With its nontraditional name, it's not entirely surprising to learn that this structure won't be part of the 13-library strong system that the National Archives runs (currently encompassing commanders-in-chief from Herbert Hoover to George W). The Washington Library will house thousands of books—105 of which are rare volumes owned by the president himself, reports USA Today. But bookish history fans won't get to touch. CBS News reports that those books will be housed in what it terms the "inner sanctum," a vault that only researchers will have access to. Stars and Stripes has a photo preview here. (More George Washington stories.)