The IHRC preserves evidence of the human dimensions of immigration.

ocumenting the immigrant experience in the United States is a race against time. Personal documents of historical significance can be thrown away, and ethnic organizations may discard materials no longer current but of historical interest. The Immigration History Research Center (IHRC), a unit of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, is an internationally recognized leader in collecting and preserving such documentation of migration and ethnicity.

The IHRC’s holdings are especially rich for 24 United States immigrant groups from eastern, central, and southern Europe, as well as from the Near East. The Center’s collections and activities, however, encompass every major theme of immigration to the United States.

Many ethnic fraternal societies' papers are safeguarded at the IHRC.

Much of the IHRC’s success is due to its special relationship with the ethnic communities whose heritages it helps preserve. The Friends of the IHRC, a nonprofit support organization, provides links to the communities represented in the IHRC’s collections.

The Center welcomes all who have need for its resources: ethnic organization members, family historians, exhibit curators, artists, and the news media, as well as scholars, teachers, and students from throughout the world. It fosters public understanding of immigration and ethnicity through (1) serving researchers and teachers; (2) replying to reference requests from the public and the media; (3) sponsoring public lectures and conferences; and (4) publishing research tools and conference proceedings.

The IHRC saves materials from national organizations.

The collections include manuscript, print, and audiovisual materials. Typical manuscript collections include personal papers of community leaders; records of fraternal organizations, immigrant service agencies, and publishing companies; and diaries and memoirs. Print and audio-visual materials include newspapers, journals, and magazines from United States and Canadian ethnic presses; academic and popular books; and photographs, phonograph records, movies, audiotapes, and videotapes. Many of the materials on microfilm, including newspapers, may be borrowed on interlibrary loan.

Related Resources

Immigration History Research Center Home Page

The Immigration History Research Center Web site includes recent news related to the Center, including upcoming events, current projects, frequently asked questions, and the endowment.

 

IHRC publications spread word of the IHRC's collections and activities.

Publications of the Immigration History Research Center

The IHRC publishes the IHRC News; an annual report (available upon request); and Spectrum, an occasional research periodical. It also publishes conference proceedings, guides, bibliographies, and other reference works describing its collections.

 

Research Collections of the Immigration History Research Center

The IHRC’s documentation of the immigrant experience includes over 5,500 linear feet of manuscript materials (almost 1,200 collections), approximately 30,000 books and pamphlets, over 4,000 newspaper and serial titles, and almost 50,000 photographs, as well as numbers of recordings, both audio and video.

 

Friends of the Immigration History Research Center

The Friends of the IHRC is a nonprofit national support group organized in 1977. Comprised of individuals and organizations, the Friends are a link between the Center and ethnic communities, encouraging donations of services, funds, and historical materials.