George W. Bush library set for May 1 opening

• The facility at Southern Methodist University in Dallas will be dedicated on April 25
• The museum will feature more than 43%2C000 artifacts and focus on key points in two Bush terms
• Facility will have largest collection of electronic records among presidential libraries

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is scheduled to open its doors to the public on May 1.

An invitation-only dedication for the facility, located at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, will be held April 25.

"We are 100 days from dedicating this important civic institution. It will preserve for history the important decisions made by President Bush during his presidency and will embody and carry on the values of President and Mrs. Bush," said Mark Langdale, president of the George W. Bush Foundation.

The entire Bush center will encompass a presidential library and museum, housing the documents and artifacts of the 43rd president, a policy institute and a 15-acre park. The library and museum, to be operated by the National Archives, will include 80 terabytes of digital information and more than 200 million e-mails -- making it the largest collection of electronic records of any presidential library.

There will be more than 43,000 artifacts from Bush's two terms in the White House, such as gifts from foreign heads of state and personal mementos. Key decision points of the Bush presidency -- such as his response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and going to war in Afghanistan and Iraq -- will be featured.

The foundation raised $300 million for construction of the Bush facility, making it the most expensive presidential library project to date. Fundraising continues for the institute's public policy programs.

Bush said in a 2009 speech at SMU that he hopes the policy institute will advance initiatives that "expand freedom, opportunity, responsibility and compassion." Conferences and seminars have been been sponsored by the Bush Institute, including a recent one on immigration.

Since leaving the White House in 2009, Bush and his wife have been living in Dallas. The former president has stayed out of the political limelight and has refrained from criticizing President Obama, his successor, as some in the Bush administration have done.

At the dedication of Bill Clinton's library in 2004, both presidents named Bush and former president Jimmy Carter took part in the event in Little Rock. It is not yet known whether Obama will take part in the dedication for the younger Bush's library and museum.