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Dear Sir/Madam
On behalf of the Board of Directors we take great pleasure in inviting you to become a member of the Pilsudski Institute of America. In order to maintain its activities, the Institute is actively seeking new members, volunteers, and is developing new fundraising initiatives. Volunteers from the metropolitan area are working at the Institute, in the archives and in the library. Members of the Board work on pro bono basis. We have only two staff members on our payroll. Private firms and corporations which join the Institute will be advertised on our website and in the annual bulletin. We also accept donations and bequests.
The Institute is one of the largest Polish archives in America dedicated to modern Polish history. Its collections include over a million documents, a library of 23,000 volumes, a gallery of over 200 Polish paintings, 20,000 photographs; maps, postcards, stamps, medals and other historical exhibits. Thanks to the generosity of the Polish American community, the Institute?s collections are constantly growing. The Institute, an independent educational non-profit organization, serves scholars and researchers throughout the world through its bilingual website www.pilsudski.org which receives over 5,000 visits per month. Since 2001, owing to grants by the Polish National Archives, the Polish Science Foundation in Warsaw, the Polish National Library, the Polish Senate, and the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York, the Institute's collections have been greatly modernized. The Kosciuszko Foundation in New York has also helped us with grants for visiting Polish archivists.
Recently the Institute, together with the Polish National Archives, restored and partly digitized the collection of documents on the Silesian Uprisings (1919-1921), sharing the information with Silesian archives. Our experience with digitizing a small section of our archives has shown how much the interest there is in archives available on the Internet. We plan to continue digitizing our collections. The goal of this project is to preserve, index and make accessible the original documents in our collections to all interested in their content. We know that it is a very ambitious program. A large number of scholars, writers, scientists, historians and politicians expressed their support for our digitizing plans, and we hope to receive financing in grants or donations from both American and Polish institutions and individuals to complete this program.
Over the years the Institute has provided and sponsored seminars for historians, conferences for the general public, book discussions and traveling exhibits in Polish and English. We organize classes for Polish school students. We plan to increase our activities provided in Polish and English to attract the younger generation of Polish Americans.
We would be delighted if you would visit the Institute, get acquainted with its unique collections, its museum of Polish history and art. Recognized by Polish historians and scholars throughout the world as a treasure of Polish heritage, the Institute needs to engage fully the attention of our community. Please join as a member and encourage others to join. Help the Institute achieve its full potential as a haven of Polish history and heritage. Let it be a part of your heritage as well.
Do not hesitate to contact us in person or on line. For an appointment or any information you may require, please contact Dr Iwona Korga, Executive Director of the Institute, at 212-505-9077, or by e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely yours,
The Executive Committee
Please, print or pay your membership fee by Internet:
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