[MSN] SIMI VALLEY, Calif.-Nancy Reagan and her husband's presidential foundation are upset over a National Archives inspector general report claiming tens of thousands of Reagan White House mementos cannot be located.

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Nancy Reagan upset over missing presidential artifacts report
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 11/09/2007 09:11:22 AM PST


SIMI VALLEY, Calif.-Nancy Reagan and her husband's presidential foundation
are upset over a National Archives inspector general report claiming tens of
thousands of Reagan White House mementos cannot be located. 
The National Archives audit concluded that more than 80,000 objects out of a
collection of some 100,000 artifacts at the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Library couldn't be accounted for because of sloppy cataloging and inventory
controls. 

The record-keeping breakdowns expose the library's vast collection to
potential theft, the inspector general's audit said. 

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation contacted the Archivist of the
Unites States to express the serious concerns and disappointment on behalf
of the foundation and Mrs. Reagan. 

"The Reagan Foundation has asked the National Archives to move swiftly in
addressing all of the shortcomings identified in the report," foundation
board chairman Frederick J. Ryan Jr. said in a statement. 

Under the jurisdiction of the National Archives and Records Administration,
the library is responsible for maintaining Reagan presidential documents,
gifts and artifacts. 

"By law the historic artifacts at the Presidential Libraries are property of
the American people. The National Archives is entrusted with the
responsibility of preserving these important objects for future
generations," Ryan added. 

The audit said part of the problem was a lack of supervision and a "near
universal" 
security breakdown that may have left the mementos vulnerable to pilfering. 
It also found numerous storage lapses, such as pieces of art stacked on top
of one another, and sculptures and vases unwrapped and lying openly in an
area prone to earthquakes. 

National Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper said it was working to bolster
inventory documentation. She added that part of the problem is understaffing
at many presidential libraries.

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