Welcome to the Archives!

ABOUT THE ARCHIVES

The Archives of the Polish Museum of America are the center for documentation and research on the history of Poles and Polish Americans. Located on the fourth floor of the Museum’s building they are considered to be one of the most important sources of information for those interested in the Polish past in America. The archival holdings consist of the following:

Records of fraternal, veteran and professional organizations predominantly active in the state of Illinois (among them the Polish Roman Catholic Union, the Polish National Alliance, the Polish Women Alliance, the Advocates Society, the Polish Medical Society, etc.)

National Archives of Poland visit

Records of the Polish National Committee
Recruitment records of the Polish Army in France (WWI)
Papers and documents of the American Relief for Poland (WWII)
Correspondence and memorabilia of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Helena Modrzejewska and Marcela Sembrich-Kochanska
Private collections that include personal and official correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, book collections, etc. of Poles active in political and social venues (among them papers of Waclaw Gawronski, Mieczyslaw Haiman, Tymon Terlecki, Leonidas Dudarew-Ossetynski and many others)
Jubilee books, missals and other publications of Polish Roman Catholic parishes in the United States

Wspolnota Polska visit – Oct, 2008

Collection of newspapers and magazines (about 1500 titles) published in Poland, the United States, and other countries
Records of Dziennik Chicagoski a daily printed between 1890 and 1971
Collection of Polish books and pamphlets printed in the USA by such Polish publishers as Dyniewicz, Paryski, Worzalla, and others
Historical collection of maps and atlases from 15^th to 20^th centuries as pertaining to Poland and Polish history
Old rare Polish books from the 17^th and 18^th centuries published in Poland
Photographs documenting political, social, and religious history of Polish Americans
Other: oral history collection; film, video and musical collections; genealogical collection

H. Misterka & E. Targonska (photo: J. Siegel)

PMA Archives Research Policies (revised January 2012)

The Archives are not accessible to the public.

Research visitors can view archival materials by calling or writing with two days’ advance notice. When an order is processed, the archival material will be available for research in the PMA Library.

Associated fees:

§ Assistance, including preparing materials and reshelving:

$20 per hour, first hour free

§ Photocopies and non-flash photography (patron’s own camera) of archival material:

$1 per page (restrictions may apply)

§ Scans available by request

In some cases, patrons may request research to be done by the Archivist. A $10 fee is charged for all requests, and includes 30 minutes of research. This fee applies to unsuccessful searches as well.

If further research is needed and approved by the patron, an additional fee of $20 per hour will apply.

Special note about the Parish Jubilee Books Collection
This collection includes original publications from Polish parishes across the US. Although the Polish Genealogical Society of America (PGSA) has created an ongoing indexing project of these books, copies from the originals can only be obtained from the PMA Archives.

For the Jubilee books that have already been indexed, the following rules and fees apply:

$5 search fee per book
$1 per page photocopied
requests should be limited to 2-3 titles
include a self addressed and stamped envelope
requests and payments must be addressed to the PMA Archives

Further information can be found at http://www.pgsa.org/Jubilee.php

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ARCHIVE NEWS

WINTER 2012

Cooperation with the NDAP [Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwow Panstwowych (Head Office of State Archives in Poland)]
   On Nov. 12, 2011, the PMA was visited by Barbara Berska, PhD, Deputy General Director of State Archives, and Pawel Pietrzyk, author of Informator o zasobie archiwalnym Instytutu J. Pilsudskiego w Ameryce [Guide to Archival Collections of the Pilsuski Intitute in America], (published by NDAP, Warsaw, 2011). They toured the Museum with PMA Director Lorys. Dr. Berska was highly impressed with the improvements since her last visit in 2008.
The main focus of Dr. Berska’s visit was the Archives and continuing projects in cooperation with the NDAP. We again applied for financial support for care of archival materials abroad under the program, Dziedzictwo kulturowe [cultural heritage], sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
   Dr. Berska confirmed the NDAP’s acceptance of the application, and two archivist from Poland will assist the PMA in 2012. After these cooperative projects are completed, the NDAP will publish an archival guide of the PMA, similar to the Pilsudski Institute guide.
   We thank the Head Office of State Archives in Poland for their continued and invaluable support.

Reactions to our appeal
Thanks go to Ms. Krystyna Markut, who as a result of our recent appeal to our readers sent a brief history of the American Institute for Polish Culture, Tampa Bay, FL, in response to Marshal Law in Poland. We continue to seek materials on this significant event in Polish history and Polonia’s response to it.

Revised Archives policies
As of January 2012, the Archives research policies have been revised, listed at the top of this page.

By H. Misterka & T. Sromek