Highlights – Winter-Spring 2026

Not all of the researchers who visit LRC come in person. In an expanding online era, individuals often rely on distance research. The following are some highlights of such “visits:”

The Lithuanian Research Center (LRC) is receiving more requests from individuals in the U.S. as well as from Lithuania for research assistance with family geneaology. Inquiries regarding relatives in Lithuanian Displaced Persons (DP) camps in Germany have also been more frequent since LRC’s 2024-2025 “Year of the Displaced Persons” (Dipukų metai).

While many of our periodicals have been digitized and are accessible at our website spauda.org, directed by Dr. Jonas Daugirdas, we still have numerous requests for access to non-digitized material. For example, Danish Ph.D. student Morten Baarvig Thomsen at the University of Southern Denmark needed a copy of Vikingų žemėje (In the Land of the Vikings) for his dissertation; Vytas Kliorys requested a copy of the last issue of Putnam Camp Newsletter in 1969 (Kibirkštėlės); Senior Bibliographer Danguolė Narkevičienė of the Information Management Department of the Library Science Methodology and Research Division at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania needed the dimensions and a scanned copy of the 1939 publication Rytas (Morning) for the library’s upcoming publication on Lithuanian manuscript and publication printing methods.

Danutė Vaičiulaitis, daughter of writer Antanas Vaičiulaitis, requested film material of her father to be shown this summer in Lithuania and the U.S. in celebration of 120 years since his birth.

A substantial data collection project that was started last year and finished in person in February was that of Raimundas Šližys, Trustee of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn, NY. He scanned much of our collection of his parish’s bulletin Apsireiškimo parapijos žinios for the years 1949-1989 and filled in gaps to our LRC collection from his own materials.

The redesigned and improved lithuanianresearch.org has been launched! The website now provides access to our library, periodical, manuscript and archive catalogs, along with latest news and books for sale! LRC worked for almost a year with its partners at EUSALINK, a digital marketing, web development and cybersecurity firm headed by CEO Artūras Žilys. They can be reached at eusalink.com.

LRC is planning an addition to its Lemont facility. Some Lithuanian-American leaders and organizations will bequeath 20, 40, even 100 boxes of archival materials. The number of students, scholars and volunteers working at LRC continues to increase. We plan to construct a two-story 6,000 square foot addition on the north and west sides of the building. The addition will house collections, a workspace for researchers and a larger space for presentations to the community.

LRC is conducting a campaign for the approximately $1,000,000 needed for architectural work, permits, planning and construction. We are about one-third of the way to that goal.

While LRC seeks broad community support for this endeavor, every campaign depends upon benefactors making a larger investment. We will name the facility for any individual or organization who wishes to finance the entire $1 million cost of the project.

We respectfully request that you consider a major investment to help make our facility expansion a reality. Benefactors at this level will be memorialized in a permanent display in the facility ($100,000, $75,000, $50,000, $25,000). Thank you very much for your consideration.

The year began with Paula and Kamilė Juzėnas filming a second promotional video at LRC for the 17th Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival of North America. They noted that LRC has the archives of the previous festivals and will house the programs, photos and documents of the 2026 festival, as well. This and their other videos are on LRC‘s and the Dance Festival‘s Facebooks. Their mother is LRC Archivist Laima Smilgytė. The Festival will take place on July 12 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Dr. Rima Povilionienė, musicologist, pianist, organist, and professor of Musicology at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius, while studying at City University in New York and researching at various archives in New York and Washington D.C. (Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress), also visited LRC in January. Her topic of research: Lithuanian contemporary music and its experimental approaches, including aspects of the work of Lithuanian émigré composers who have moved to the United States. In the photo above she is with Archives Director Dr. Indrė Antanaitis Jacobs and Musicology Director Gaile Vitas.

Much of February was devoted to LRC’s relationships with government agencies and academic institutions in Lithuania.

LRC presented at a virtual meeting of the Lithuanian Parliament-Lithuanian World Community Joint Commission and the Parliament’s Commission on the Preservation of Lithuanian Heritage on February 13. (top left)

LRC maintains a close relationship with the Kaunas Regional State Archive and the Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius. (top middle and right)

We are planning a presentation on civil-military affairs in 2027 at the Historical Presidential Palace in Kaunas. (with Dr. Ingrida Jakubavičienė, bottom left).

Discussions with Lina Dusevičienė of Vilnius University on greater cooperation between the University and emigre Lithuanians were very productive. (bottom second)

LRC has carried out joint projects with the Martynas Mažvydas National Library. Future projects were outlined with Dr. Jolanta Budriūnienė, Director of the Documentary Heritage Research Department. (bottom third)

Rūta Kupetytė, correspondent at the Lithuanian National Radio & Television Network and professor of communication at Vilnius University, has been instrumental in informing the public about LRC’s activities (bottom right). Rūta also did research for her Ph.D. dissertation at LRC a few years ago.

February continued with LRC participating at the annual Vilnius Security Forum at Lithuania’s Parliament. The Forum brings together military officers and experts from Europe and North America. LRC Chairman Dr. Robertas Vitas is with Conference Chair and retired Lithuanian Army Colonel Vaidotas Malinionis and retired US Army Colonel Steven Olejasz (upper middle) and Ambassador Eitvydas Bajorūnas (upper right). Robertas and Steven meet with retired US Army Colonel Raymond Wojcik (bottom left). The conference was also broadcast in Lithuania (bottom right).

LRC participated in the annual Saint Casimir Fair at the Lithuanian World Center in Lemont on March 1. From left: LRC President Kristina Lapienytė, Archives Director Dr. Indrė Antanaitis Jacobs, Lithuanian National Guard Secretary Silvija Motiejūnienė, Kazys Motekaitis and Librarian-Archivist Gaile Vitas. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our stand to discuss LRC‘s research activities.

Vilius and Arūnas Butinas donated two cases of family memorabilia, including documents from World War II, on March 7. Arūnas serves as president of the Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice, IL, which itself preserves a great deal of Lithuanian-American history and the memory of many who have gone before us. We ask all of you to consider donating your documents, photographs, letters and diaries.

LRC President & Chief Executive Officer Kristina Lapienytė spoke at the February 16 Independence Day celebration at the Lithuanian World Center in Lemont and at the March 11 celebration of the Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence at the Immaculate Conception Lithuanian Parish in Brighton Park, Chicago.

LRC also participated in the March 11 celebration at the Lithuanian World Center in Lemont. LRC Chairman Dr. Robertas Vitas presented on the continuity of Lithuanian statehood since the 13th century.

John Weber, professor of geology at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, visited LRC on March 19. He is researching his Lithuanian-American roots, which stretch back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His great grandfather immigrated from Lithuania to Illinois and worked as a coal miner. In his personal effort to learn the Lithuanian language, he purchased language instruction books from our website‘s Used Book Sales page.

Teacher Gintautas Steponavičius of the Maironis Lithuanian School of Lemont has brought several of his classes to LRC’s Chicago and Lemont facilities through the years. He arrived in Chicago with his students on March 21, where they had a tour of the Chicago Lithuanian Center and LRC’s facilities within it. LRC’s Museum is a journey through Lithuanian history and culture.

March 28 saw the opening of the Chicago Lithuanian Opera’s (CLO) exhibition, „Iš kartos į kartą“ (From Generation to Generation), of which much of the material came from LRC.

The Lithuanian Foundation (LF) supported the exhibition. See acknowledgment of LRC and LF (above left). LF President Viktoras Kaufmanas and Algimantas Barniškis attended the grand opening (above middle with Robertas Vitas). LRC volunteer Dr. Ramunė Račkauskas (above right) spots her name among those who have participated with CLO.

Opera members Monika Auškalnytė, Inga Auškalnienė, and Vilma Martin worked with Musicology Director Gaile Vitas during February and March to gather material for the exhibition from our CLO collections, as well those of individual performers and composers. LRC‘s Musicology Archive contains photographs, posters, and audio recordings from all of CLO‘s productions. The CLO collection is the longest standing musical organizational one here, about 80 years‘ worth, since CLO first started as a men's chorus in the 1940s, and is made up of hundreds of individual's donations.

Below right: Monika, Inga, Gaile, and Vilma, joined by LRC Archives Director Dr. Indrė Antanaitis Jacobs.

LRC again participated at the Annual International Conference of the American Association of the Friends of Koščiuška at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on April 24-25, with representation from Lithuanians, Poles and Americans, including the Academy's Superintendent, Lieutenant General Steven Gilland (center). Robertas Vitas speaks at left and meets with Colonels Steven Olejasz and Raymond Wojcik at right.

LRC hosted the Lithuanian Writers Asociation‘s spring poetry reading on April 26.

Left: LWA President Rev. Valdas Aušra, Laima Apanavičienė and Arūnas Šatkus.
Center: Singer Rimantas Pažemeckas.
Right: Arūnas Šatkus and Sandra Avižienytė.