The Presidential Handwriting File is an artificial collection created by the White House Office of Records Management (WHORM). The Presidential Handwriting File consists of a variety of documents that Ronald Reagan either annotated, edited, or wrote in his own hand. When documents containing the president's handwriting were received at WHORM for filing, the original was placed in the Presidential Handwriting File and arranged by the order received. A photocopy of the document was placed in the appropriate category of the WHORM: Subject File. The first page of the casefile was stamped Handwriting File, indicating the location of the original documents. However, WHORM often failed to indicate on the original documents the original location (i.e. the six digit tracking number, Subject Category Code). The Presidential Handwriting File, as created by the White House, did not contain handwriting found in staff and office files. The Library will be creating a further series of handwriting material from staff and office files.
In order to provide better access to the Presidential Handwriting File, the collection has been arranged into six series. Each series is arranged chronologically by the date of the document. Each document has been marked with the appropriate WHORM: Subject File category and a six digit tracking number.
