Within the Vault

The 1998 exhibition, Within the Vault, gave visitors to the Reagan Library a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes.

"Every year people give thousands of gifts to the President and First Lady of the United States. The gifts come from Kings and Queens, businesses of all sizes, and ordinary people. Some are valuable. Others are not. All are important. President and Mrs. Reagan received more than 75,000 gifts while they were in the White House, the largest number in history. And the gifts keep coming in.

Because of the volume of gifts received by the First Family, the White House Gift Unit was established in 1966. This office is responsible for processing all Presidential gifts -- sometimes hundreds per week. Presidential gifts go directly to the White House Gift Unit, whose job it is to acknowledge receipt, determine disposition, and keep accurate records. The vast majority of these gifts are eventually given to the Presidential Library system to care for.

The staff and volunteers at the Reagan Library work to preserve the vast gift collection for future generations to enjoy and learn from. Some items are stored in special steel cabinets that provide a dust free and secure environment. Objects are handled as little as possible, and when they are, workers wear white gloves to protect the objects from body oils. Special acid-free packing materials are used to protect the objects from acidic damage. Light levels are kept low to protect the objects from ultraviolet damage. And, in our earthquake prone area, a variety of special precautions are taken to protect objects against the possibility of earth movement. These include waxing breakable objects down to the surface on which they rest, tying objects to storage racks and shelves, using special Earthquake proof picture hangers, and fashioning bases out of foam material to prevent unstable objects from toppling. In the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, only one object in the collections was damaged."