The Barack Obama Presidential Center opened in Chicago last week to great fanfare. Following years of construction, and with intense debate about how the project would affect the surrounding community, dignitaries gathered to celebrate the opening of the newest addition to the nation’s landscape of buildings honoring those who have occupied the Oval Office. The campus contains stunning views, beautiful art, and captivating displays. Tourists and school groups will certainly enjoy spending time on the grounds, learning about one of the most impactful leaders of recent history.

By most accounts, the center is impressive. The exhibits include honest assessments of Obama’s time in office and the animating vision seem to be of using the center to nurture the next generation of civic leaders.

The Barack Obama Presidential Center opened in Chicago last week to great fanfare. Following years of construction, and with intense debate about how the project would affect the surrounding community, dignitaries gathered to celebrate the opening of the newest addition to the nation’s landscape of buildings honoring those who have occupied the Oval Office. The campus contains stunning views, beautiful art, and captivating displays. Tourists and school groups will certainly enjoy spending time on the grounds, learning about one of the most impactful leaders of recent history.

By most accounts, the center is impressive. The exhibits include honest assessments of Obama’s time in office and the animating vision seem to be of using the center to nurture the next generation of civic leaders.

But are these libraries—or centers in Obama’s case—being built and run in the right way? Over the decades, they have become the sources of intense controversy, often reinforcing the very political dysfunctions that frustrate Americans. At the same time, some of their basic functions are fading.

Unfortunately, despite the best of intentions and the historic nature of Obama’s presidency—not to mention his many accomplishments that reshaped the United States—the institution that has just opened puts some of the presidential library system’s worst problems on full display.

The modern presidential library system dates back to the mid-1950s. Before then, presidential papers were treated as the personal property to the former commanders in chief. Some were destroyed, while others, such as those of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, were passed down and sold by their heirs. For instance, Lincoln’s son, Robert, took possession of his father’s papers before donating them to the Library of Congress. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set an important precedent when he transferred his papers to the National Archives. Roosevelt also built a museum with private funds on his family’s estate in Hyde Park, New York, then turned it over to the federal government in 1940.

The federal system came into being with the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955. The legislation, signed into law by President Dwight Einsehower, established a federal system of presidential libraries. The bill authorized Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration........

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