20 years after opening, Bill Clinton’s presidential library prepares for a ‘refresh’

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Twenty years since Bill Clinton opened his presidential library and museum before a rain-soaked crowd, the area around the glass and steel facility has been transformed.

The museum fueled development around Little Rock’s once-sleepy downtown, with a former industrial area to its east blossoming into an entertainment district. Next to the building, cyclists and runners regularly cross what was once a railroad bridge spanning the Arkansas River.

But little has changed inside the museum, which features many of the same exhibits unveiled two decades ago: touchscreen displays where visitors can pull up Clinton’s daily schedules, replicas of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, electronic tickers scrolling with the 42nd president’s accomplishments.

That’s about to change, as library officials are marking the 20th anniversary of its opening and planning for a major update and expansion that will add Hilary Rodham Clinton’s personal archives.

“We need to refresh the current exhibits, the technology,” Stephanie Streett, the executive director of the Clinton Foundation said.. “The story is not going to change, the story of the Clinton administration and the work he did.”

But library officials are looking at how to add context to major decisions that were made during the Clinton administration. The changes comes as views have evolved among fellow Democrats about some of Clinton’s accomplishments, including his 1994 crime bill. Library officials say they plan to revisit some of those decisions and their impact on today.

“It does remain an interesting era, and the Clinton administration obviously shaped the 1990s,” Jay Barth, the library’s director, said. “So I think that’s the story we tell, the interplay between that era of the 1990s and this administration.”

Library officials haven’t given a timeline or cost for the planned expansion. Streett said it would also include more community spaces for events, programs and student groups.

Clinton remains an active political figure and has evolved into a elder statesman figure in the Democratic Party, delivering a primetime speech and campaigning on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the presidential election. His library turned 20 on Monday, the day before he releases a memoir about his years since leaving office in 2001.

The expansion will allow the library to tell more about Hillary Rodham Clinton. She has remained a high-profile figure since her time as first lady through her work in the Senate, as secretary of state and her two unsuccessful presidential bids.

The expansion will include an institute that will serve as a hub for the former first lady’s nonprofit and advocacy work. Hillary Clinton’s papers from her time as first lady are already held in the presidential library’s archives.

“I think it is a fascinating, distinctive story that really resonates with a different audience, a slightly younger audience, but really an audience of all ages because of how important her role was in American life,” Barth said.

The library is the centerpiece of a 29-acre (nearly 12-hectare) park that was once a warehouse district. The campus includes the University of Arkansas’ Clinton School of Public Service.

More than 5 million people have visited the center since the facility opened in a ceremony that drew dignitaries and celebrities. The library remains a major draw for the city, with tour groups regularly visiting it and local groups holding events at the facility’s great hall.

The tourism attention is what library planners had hoped for when the site, located next to an interstate in the city’s downtown, was chosen.

“We knew we would get the political attention because of the Clinton presidency,” said Skip Rutherford, the former head of the Clinton Foundation who oversaw the library’s planning, construction and opening. “We knew there would be the political attention, both good and bad. What we hoped for was we’d get the tourism attention.”

The library is marking the opening’s anniversary with a series of events in early December that will include a conversation with the former president about his new book. The library has also been selling souvenirs to mark the occasion. They include a Christmas ornament that features the image of an umbrella — a reminder of the soggy opening ceremony — as well as mugs and postcards with images from that day.

A week after the election, the library’s visitors included Mary Jordan from Phoenix, who stopped by on the way home from North Carolina. Jordan said visiting the library made her appreciate even more Clinton’s presidency and his ideals.

“It certainly makes me appreciate America and what we stand for and our democracy, and I hope we never lose that,” she said.

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