The Presidential Recordings Collection is made up of two distinct types of presidential speech: public speeches made by U.S. Presidents and secret recordings made in the White House between 1940 and 1973.

Many of the recordings originate from the National Archives and the individual presidential libraries that fall under the National Archives. Digital copies of the recordings have been provided by the Scripps Library at the Miller Center of Public Affairs. The Miller Center is a nonpartisan research center at the University of Virginia whose focus is the American presidency.

There are also now a number of old and new presidential recordings provided by Internet Archive users.

Finding aids exist for the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon secret White House recordings. The Scripps Library has developed a webpage with detailed information on how to access and use these finding aids.

For additional information about the Miller Center recordings, please visit the Scripps Library's website.