American Lithuanian Cultural Archives
American Lithuanian Cultural Archives or ALKA () is located at 37 Mary Crest Drive in Putnam, Connecticut next to the convent of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is dedicated to the preservation of Lithuanian culture in the United States. ALKA comprises a museum, a library and the archives. It is maintained by the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science. History The history of ALKA is traced to 1922 when Catholic priest Pranciškus Mykolas Juras (Francis M. Juras) began collecting Lithuanian books and periodicals at his parish in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He also collected Lithuanian art and crafts, including samples of weaving and knitting, national folk costumes, jewelry, wood carvings, and various implements and utensils. As the collection grew, it moved to the offices of the newspaper Darbininkas in South Boston in 1935. ALKA was officially established in 1941. When the newspaper moved to Brooklyn in 1951, the collection temporarily moved to a garage of the Lithuanian convent in Brockton, Massachusetts. In 1963, using his personal funds, Juras built a small house in Putnam, CT and moved his collection there. In 1973, Juras officially sold his collection for the symbolic $1 to the Lithuanian Catholic Academy