SVU Archives

As most SVU members know, we have been trying to find a suitable repository for SVU archival material some of which was stored for years in my house or other locations. You will be pleased to learn that we have finally found one and, in fact, the material has already been transferred there. The material has been deposited in IHRC (Immigration History Research Center) at the University of Minnesota.

For over 35 years, the Center has worked hard to collect, preserve and make available to researchers from all over the United States and the world archival materials documenting the experience of various immigrant communities, including the Czechs and Slovaks - and their descendants -- in America. The IHRC has recently moved to the Elmer L. Andersen Library on the Minneapolis West Bank Campus of the University of Minnesota. The building is a new, state-of-the-art archival facility where the documents will find a safe home designed to provide an ideal environment for their preservation (constant air temperature and humidity, minimal exposure to light and dust, security features, etc).

The collection will receive professional care by the IHRC staff, including a Czech-speaking archivist. Once the materials are sorted, organized, placed in non-acidic file folders and containers, and catalogued, their location at a major research university will provide opportunities for academic researchers to generate scholarly articles and books contributing to the better knowledge of the history of the Czech and Slovak Americans as well as the important role the SVU has played in it. For more information about the IHRC, please visit the Center's Web site at: http://www.umn.edu/ihrc

The material we have deposited in IHRC relates essentially to SVU central archives. We realize that lots of other SVU materials are maintained by ndividual SVU Local Chapters as well as by former SVU officers. It would be an obvious advantage if all SVU material would be kept together in one place.

Consequently, I am requesting that the responsible officers would kindly assemble all of their historical material and send it to University of Minnesota to be included in SVU Archives. Please include a brief description of the contents of your shipment. Over the years, we have found the United Parcel Service (UPS) to be a reliable shipping company.

The material should be sent to the following address: Attn: Daniel Necas, Assistant Curator, Immigration History Research Center, University of innesota
311 Elmer L. Andersen Library, 222-21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Thanks for your understanding and your help.

Mila Rechcigl
SVU President

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