Sector(s)
Team Members
Project Team
Threespot, creative agency
Inclind, development
NARA, client
As a Presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Reagan Library, under the authority of the Presidential Records Act, is the repository of presidential records for President Reagan’s administration. The Reagan Library’s holdings include over 60 million pages of documents, over 1.6 million photographs, a half million feet of motion picture film and tens of thousands of audio and video tapes. Additionally, the Library houses personal papers collections including documents from Ronald Reagan’s eight years as governor of California.
Threespot, an interactive, creative agency and Inclind, a Drupal development agency, joined forces to redesign and redevelop the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum with the goal of connecting audiences to the Reagan Presidency and its role in American History and empowering researchers to search, browse, and discover relevant and related content.
About the project
Challenge
Administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), The Reagan Library is the repository for millions of presidential records and personal papers from President Ronald Reagan’s administration. NARA’s Strategic Goals include connecting more effectively with their customers, but the Library’s website was both onerous to maintain by staff, and poorly met audience needs for research, education, and visit planning, among other goals.
Data spanned different platforms, came in the various formats including thousands of pdfs, docx files and data stored in Microsoft Access databases and was varied in content from photo contact sheets and references to historical guides on Reagan Administration personnel, topic guides, personal papers and collections.
Goals
The project goals were as follows:
- Create a visually rich design system based on U.S. Web Design System (USWDS)
- Improve search experience by utilizing Drupal 8 search technology coupled with Elastic Search
- Utilize a two-step process (PDF to DOCX and DOCX to HTML) for PDF conversions to web-based versions that preserve formatting and consistency.
- Defined a pattern library of reusable components using Atomic Design System’s atoms, molecules and organisms.
- Use Pattern Lab’s rapid prototyping to enable feedback early and often in the process before the design system was applied to the CMS.
Outcome
The site was developed in Drupal 8, using the principles of atomic design to deliver a pattern library of reusable components, prioritizing scalability and extensibility over debt-incurring technical shortcuts.
All of the various data formats were migrated into Drupal. Thousands of PDF files were converted into editable nodes and indexed. This makes the data more searchable and accessible for researchers and more manageable for website administrators.
The result is a site that provides users straightforward access to content and educational resources alongside an easy-to-use administrative interface for Library staff.
Why Drupal was chosen
The Drupal 8 CMS was chosen to provide content editors with the best experience in updating content. The Reagan Library website needed a robust platform to facilitate a very complicated data structure. The previous website was on Drupal so the organizations involved were already familiar with the capabilities. Another benefit is that Drupal 8 is built on modern architecture with a focus on future releases, which allows the site to exist with minor transitions in the future.
Technical Specifications
Drupal version:
Key modules/theme/distribution used:
U.S. Web Design System was a client requirement as was Elastic Search. Guternberg for better content management, Feeds for pulling in data and Particle to leverage Pattern Lab.
