Chicago, New York And Honolulu Shortlisted For Obama's Presidential Library

President Barack Obama's future presidential library could be located in either Chicago, New York or Honolulu. Of the 13 locations that have submitted applications to host the president’s library, four schools -- Columbia University, the University of Hawaii, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago -- are now on the short list for consideration.

Now, the institutions have until Dec. 11 to submit formal proposals to the Barack Obama Foundation, which will make recommendations early next year, after which president Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will make the final decision.

Marty Nesbitt, chairman of the Barack Obama Foundation, said the shortlisted schools showed the strongest vision for the presidential library, but the schools will have to do a lot more to be selected. Proposals must include details of how Obama’s presidential library would be “managed and organized, what financial contributions the institutions or their partners can offer, and how much the institution plans to pay any consultants,” the Associated Press reported. In addition, the schools will have to include ideas for “academic collaboration, diversity goals and potential marketing strategies.”

The selected school will have to provide a location that is at least 20,000 cubic feet -- roughly the size of the Oval Office --to hold the unclassified documents, audio-visual records and artifacts that chronicle Obama’s presidency. Regardless of its location, the library is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build.