The Lithuanian State Historical Archives and the Lithuanian Alliance of America Sign a Cooperation Agreement
The Lithuanian State Historical Archives and the Lithuanian Alliance of America, both with a long history, have taken a new step in their cooperation – on September 7, 2026, the institutions signed a cooperation agreement.
Founded in 1886, the Lithuanian Alliance of America (SLA) is one of the oldest Lithuanian organizations in the United States. The agreement aims to preserve, digitize, and make accessible to the public significant documentary heritage of the Lithuanian diaspora.
Under the agreement, the parties will cooperate in arranging, digitizing, and making the SLA archives accessible to the public. The SLA will transfer digital copies of its archival files to the Lithuanian State Historical Archives for an unlimited period, while the Archives will include them in the records of the relevant part of the National Documentary Fund and upload them to the Electronic Archive Information System (EAIS).
The SLA archives comprise 1,973 files containing documents relating to Lithuanians who lived in the United States and their organizational life. These include SLA membership applications, membership cards, insurance, benefit, and payment records. They contain valuable information about people's names and surnames and their changes, dates and places of birth, family and kinship relations, professions, places of residence in the United States, and membership in the organization.
Documents related to a member's death and benefits paid to their relatives are particularly significant, as they may contain information about spouses, children, and other family members. Such sources make it possible to connect families who lived in Lithuania with later generations who lived in the United States and to reconstruct family histories continued through emigration.
The SLA archival documents will complement sources preserved in Lithuanian archives. They will be of interest to people seeking genealogical information as well as to historians researching Lithuanian emigration, the social and professional composition of emigrants, family migration, and the life of Lithuanian communities in the United States.
Through cooperation between the Lithuanian State Historical Archives and the SLA, a part of the documentary heritage of the Lithuanian diaspora preserved overseas will gradually become accessible to the Lithuanian public – SLA digitized archival files will be searchable and viewable through EAIS. The agreement also provides for joint archival outreach initiatives, exhibitions, publications, and research on topics of common interest.
News photo: Reconstruction of the Lithuanian Alliance of America (SLA) flag, Lithuanian National Museum, Lithuanian National Museum – “A Gift from the Lithuanian-American Community: A Reconstructed Historic Diaspora Flag”
Last updated: 15-09-2026
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