Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College launches new website to view collections online
Eureka College and the Ronald Reagan Museum and Archives curator, Cassandra Chapman, are pleased to unveil a new website (reaganmuseum.eureka.edu) that showcases the Reagan collections. Researchers, authors, community members, college professors, teachers, and world-wide visitors to the site can view thousands of items in the collections and see the details of each item with the final goal to provide access to 5,000 objects by the end of the two-year grant.
This new website was funded by a grant of almost $50,000 to support collection management by building an online accessible cataloging system. Viewers from around the world will now be able to view the collection online, providing greater access to the museum resources.
The grant also provided for increased preservation of items as each item is rehoused in better storage boxes. It also funded a new part-time position of Museum Registrar to help with the cataloguing and rehousing.
The 5,000 items are only a fraction of those in the museum and archives. This grant was the first step to making them available to view online. The college continues to seek more grants to fund the work needed to catalogue all items between the Ronald Reagan Museum collection and the Eureka College Archives.
About Eureka College
Located on nearly 70 wooded acres in Eureka, Illinois, and chartered in 1855, Eureka College cultivates excellence in learning, service and leadership while providing students uniquely personalized educational opportunities.
Eureka College holds the unique distinction of being the first college in Illinois and among the first in the nation to admit men and women on an equal basis. The College, originally founded by abolitionist members of Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), is the smallest of only 24 colleges and universities to ever award a bachelor’s degree to a future President of the United States.