From the University of Arkansas:
University of Arkansas alumnae and sisters Agnes Lytton, Mary Sue and Betty Lynn Reagan have designated an estate gift to the University Libraries valued at over $1.2 million. The three sisters were born and raised in Northwest Arkansas and had deep connections to history, education and library science throughout their lives. Their gift will be utilized for the purchase of library materials, such as books, periodicals and digital resources.
The University Libraries’ Special Collections Department began archiving the family’s papers in 1988. The Reagan Family Papers (MC 755) include essays, photographs, correspondence, clippings, a scrapbook, and the Mary Sue Reagan Political Collection. With this estate gift, Special Collections also received hundreds of books for the Arkansas and Rare Books collections, as well as an antique bookshelf once owned by famed Cherokee attorney E.C. Boudinot. The bookshelf currently houses an exhibit about Boudinot and is on display in the Special Collections Reading Room in Mullins Library.
Carolyn Henderson Allen, dean of University Libraries, knew the Reagan sisters very well.
“The Reagan Sisters were some of my first friends when I moved to Arkansas in 2000,” Allen said. “I found them to be charming, interesting gentlewomen who could talk on everything from politics and history to gardening and food. They were fun to be around, and they were curious about everything in the world. They were voracious readers, wonderful conversationalists and they were interested in all aspects of the university, not just the Libraries.”
All three of the Reagan sisters have strong family ties to Arkansas and attended the university.
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