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Presidential library and museum for U. S. President Bill Clinton, located in Little Rock, Arkansas

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of Bill Clinton, who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. It is located in Little Rock, Arkansas and includes the Clinton Presidential Library, the offices of the Clinton Foundation, and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. It is the thirteenth presidential library to have been completed in the United States, the eleventh to be operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, and the third to comply with the Presidential Records Act of 1978. It is situated on of land located next to the Arkansas River and Interstate 30 and was designed by architectural firm Polshek Partnership, LLP with exhibition design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates. Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects also contributed. The main building cantilevers over the Arkansas River, echoing Clinton's campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century". The archives are the largest as well, containing 2 million photographs, 80 million pages of documents, 21 million e mail messages, and 79,000 artifacts from the Clinton presidency. The museum showcases artifacts from Clinton's two terms as president and includes full scale replicas of the Clinton era Oval Office and Cabinet Room. Early estimates put the library's cost at about $125 million. Clinton himself was prohibited by law from personally soliciting donations for the center, but he did host private events relating to the library. There were no other legal restrictions on donations, and the Clinton Foundation was able to accept unlimited private donations, all of which were tax deductible. Donations exceeding $1 million were also given from various other foreign governments (such as Kuwait and Taiwan), as well as foreign individuals. Various American organizations also contributed millions of dollars to the foundation.

The Clinton Presidential Center was dedicated on November 18, 2004. Although it was raining, the ceremony was attended by approximately 30,000 people (including notable figures such as Willie Mays, Robin Williams, and Barbra Streisand) and included a 20 minute speech made by Clinton, who had recently undergone bypass surgery. It also included performances by Bono, the African Drum Ballet and the Philander Smith Collegiate Choir, as well as an invocation given by Floyd Flake and video tribute from Nelson Mandela. Four U. S. presidents (Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush were present; former president Gerald R. Ford could not attend due to health concerns) were on the same stage together. All three other presidents spoke at the event as well. Overall, the ceremony lasted two hours and featured six speakers. He specifically mentioned the center and school as places where discussion on such topics could take place.

The five story main building comprises of exhibition space, the Great Hall (used for banquets or forums), Forty Two (formerly Café 42, now a full service restaurant; Clinton was the 42nd president), and classrooms. A private penthouse used by Clinton is located on the top (fifth) floor of the main building, one level above the public museum area. In 2007 the Clinton Foundation installed on the rooftop of the Presidential library the private "Rooftop Garden" with a golf course. The organization of the exhibits within the main building was inspired by the famous Long Room in the Old Library at Trinity College, Dublin, which Clinton first saw when he was a Rhodes Scholar. The archives are housed in a building south of and connected to the main building, which also contains NARA facilities.

The Clinton Presidential Park occupies nearly of land and is located on the riverfront next to the museum. It is a leading example of urban renewal, as the site was formerly a run down warehouse district. The park was built next to the site of abandoned railroad tracks of the defunct Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The center of the park is Celebration Circle, a fountain plaza around which the center's major buildings are located.

The 1899 Rock Island Railroad Bridge across the Arkansas River, originally built by the Choctaw and Memphis Railroad and leading to Choctaw Station, has been converted into a pedestrian bridge connecting to North Little Rock. On the fifth anniversary of the library's opening, Clinton said that construction on the project would begin in 2010, but full funding had not yet been secured, as the project was still short about $3 million. The Clinton Foundation had originally planned to renovate the bridge for $4 million in exchange for a $1 a year land lease from the state. In 2009, Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe agreed to use $2.5 million of stimulus funds to fund part of the renovation. A previous $8 million earmark for the project had failed to pass the state legislature. In 2010, fundraising was finally completed for the bridge, renamed as the Clinton Park Bridge, and construction began on May 28, 2010. On September 30, 2011, Clinton spoke at a dedication ceremony for the bridge, which opened to the public on October 2, 2011.

For legal reasons involving state development funds, retail facilities were, for a time, prohibited on the same property as the library itself. The Clinton Museum Store was first located in the nearby River Market district. In 2016, however, the limitation expired and the store relocated to the library lobby.

The Clinton Library features numerous items from Clinton's time as president. Clinton's Cadillac One is on the first floor of the main building. The second floor includes the main gallery. It consists of a 110 feet (34 m) timeline of each of Clinton's years as president, as well as 14 alcoves featuring various events during Clinton's terms. There is an orientation theater and full size replicas of the Clinton era Oval Office and Cabinet Room as well. Clinton has been criticized for not including enough details about the Monica Lewinsky scandal and his impeachment. One of the 14 alcoves is dedicated to the "politics of persecution" and is titled The Fight For Power. The alcove includes the Lewinsky affair, the Whitewater scandal, and the Republican Contract with America. Ralph Applebaum, the chief exhibit designer for the center, said that Clinton was heavily involved in the alcove's design, and that Clinton "insisted on a transparent and illuminating exhibition". In 2001, a rail depot dating from 1899 was discovered within a warehouse on the site. Preservationists lost a court battle to save the building, and the depot was destroyed. U. S. Attorney Mary Jo White also launched a criminal investigation into whether the pardon had been a result of the contributions. It was later claimed that Rich had donated the funds months before asking for a pardon. Clinton maintained that the pardon had not been bought, but had been based instead on the legal merits of Marc Rich's appeal. During the 2008 U. S. presidential election, Barack Obama referenced the donations during his primary campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton has also been criticized for the library's lack of coverage regarding various scandals during his presidency, including the Whitewater scandal. Clinton adviser Bruce Lindsey said that Clinton wanted to provide information regarding the incidents, but depicting the attacks as a scheme to "delegitimize" Clinton's administration. The museum's main exhibit designer has said that "this is the way the president wanted to see his legacy defined." The structural engineer for this project was Leslie E. Robertson Associates. The museum and exhibitions were designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, with landscaping by Hargreaves associates. Although Appelbaum was the official designer for the exhibitions, Appelbaum called Clinton "the editor in chief, the curator in chief and in many times the art director of the exhibits". The library's flooring is made of recycled rubber tires and there are charging stations for electric vehicles in the parking lot. In 2007, a rooftop garden was established atop the library, in addition to existing solar panels. The garden collects runoff and is maintained without the use of gasoline powered lawn mowers and chemical pesticides or fertilizers.

After the location for the project was announced, many new businesses began to develop in the surrounding area. Numerous hotels, restaurants, housing complexes, offices, retail stores were established. The revived River Market district, a dining and retail area near the library, was created as a result of its location. In addition, over $1 billion of new real estate has been invested in downtown Little Rock. The world headquarters of Heifer International is located just beyond the library.

The Clinton Presidential Center offers free admission to school groups, homeschool groups, and other school personnel with a reservation. The center also offers four free admission days annually in celebration of Presidents' Day, the Fourth of July, President Clinton's birthday, and the anniversary of the Clinton Center's grand opening.