Lithuanian Research and Studies Center: establishment of the Lithuanian diaspora research institution in Chicago and its activities from 1982 to 2022

ENWith origins that date back to the 1970s, the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center is the only Lithuanian diaspora research institution in the world. Its emergence was determined by the Lithuanian heritage accumulated in the Lithuanian diaspora and the need to disseminate it, as well as the developing scientific potential of Lithuanians abroad and the consequences of the Soviet occupation. Representatives of the Lithuanian American scientific and cultural elite founded this institution at the Youth Center in Chicago in early 1982, uniting 12 departments under the umbrella principle. The goal was to collect Lithuanian material, make it available to researchers, bring the latter together for scientific work, and promote research both within the Lithuanian diaspora and among non-Lithuanians. Up until 1990, the Center took shape by pooling the Lithuanian base and strengthening Lithuanian research. After 1990, in the second stage of the LRSC’s activities, extensive and resilient relations were established with Lithuanian research institutions and scholars; Lithuanian libraries were supplied with Western literature and diaspora publications; books by Lithuanian and foreign scholars were prepared and published; articles and documents were scanned and microfilmed; and exhibitions were put together. The Center also became known to foreign scholars interested in Lithuanian studies. Keywords Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, Lithuanian studies, USA, Chicago, Lemont, Lithuanians abroad, Lithuanian diaspora, Youth Center, World Lithuanian Archive, Jonas Račkauskas, Robertas Vitas. [From the publication]

• JAV lietuvių darbai Lietuvai 1918-2018 metais / Juozas Skirius. Vilnius : Savas takas ir Ko ; 2018. 558 p.
• The Significance of the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center and science in the life of Lithuanians in emigration / Robertas Vitas. Lituanus. 2022, vol. 68, no. 2, p. 79-94, 96.