The Archives
Among ALBA’s ongoing priorities has been the continuing expansion and cataloguing of its massive archives at New York University’s Tamiment Library. The archives include the complete files of the national office of VALB and the personal papers and memorabilia of numerous Spanish Civil War volunteers. These now include several hundred Spanish Civil War posters, thousands of letters written home from Spain, hundreds of photographs, and recorded interviews, as well as pamphlets, books, and unpublished works. Donations of documents by veterans and their families and friends continue to this day. The organization remains committed to preserving, cataloguing, and disseminating not only the wartime experiences of North American volunteers living in these documents, but also the whole story of their lives, from their cultural and political background to the remarkable contributions they made in the decades that followed the Spanish Civil War.
During the 1990s ALBA dramatically expanded its collecting and outreach efforts. With the discovery of the International Brigades Archives in Moscow, ALBA embarked on a major fundraising and negotiating process to bring copies of this archive to the United States. As a result, New York University’s Tamiment Library now houses a large number of microfilm and photographic records about the North American role in Spain. While ALBA’s acquisition efforts continue, the records which it has obtained will support research well into this century.