Think You're Not Organized? Check out the Reagan Library

So we've all been to the Reagan Library at least once for a school fieldtrip. You might recall seeing the array of items presented to Reagan as gifts over the years of his presidency. They all looked so valuable and cared for behind the glass, but apparently they weren't being watched that carefully, considering that the library is uable to find our account for tens of thousands of valuable mementos. About six months ago, an archivist was accused of stealing from the collections and was fired. Of particualr interest is whether the artifacts that are unaccountd for include pieces from a large collection of ornamented Western belt buckles given to Reagan over the years by admirers who knew of his attachment to his ranch. The audit found that the Reagan library was unable to properly account for more than 80,000 artifacts out of its collection of some 100,000 such items, and "may have experienced loss or pilferage the scope of which will likely never be known". It also found numerous storage lapses, such as artworks stacked on top of one another, and sculptures and vases unwrapped and lying on their sides on open shelves, in an area prone to earthquakes. National Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper said the agency welcomed the audit and was taking its findings very seriously. Part of the problem is that the presidential libraries originally did not have the same strict preservation guidelines used by most museums.

I think that it is pretty embarassing how bad the organizational system at the Reagan library was. Not being able to account for 80,000 out of 100,000 is quite the accomplishment, but not one I would brag about. There should definately be some kind of regulation in how national artifacts should be stored and identified so that this does not happen again. I honestly dont think that missing belt buckes is a national disaster, but I do understand that they have emotional value and should be taken care of.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-reagan8nov08,1,6698948,print.story?coll=la-news-politics-national&ctrack=2&cset=true