Children's Television Workshop records

In 1966, Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morisett founded the Children's Television Workshop (now known as the Sesame Workshop). From its founding, the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) strived to combine education and television programming that promoted early childhood education. In March 1968, Cooney and Morisett secured funding from the United States Office of Education, the Carnegie Corporation Foundation, and the Ford Foundation to support the research and production of an experimental television program, which became internationally known as Sesame Street. Sesame Street premiered in November 1969 and ultimately became the first of several CTW programs known for its distinct combination of education and entertainment. Over the next three decades, CTW released several subsequent programs including, The Electric Company , Feeling Good, The Best of Families, and 3-2-1 Contact, among others. In 2000 CTW changed its name to Sesame Workshop. Today, production continues under this more commonly known name.

The Children's Television Workshop records contained in this collection consist of a wide variety of materials from the 1960s to the 1990s. The materials have been divided in multiple series based on the format and originating office of the materials. These series contain corporate records and reports, administrative documents, board minutes, program research, scripts, artwork, and press materials. While the series have been arranged to gather materials based on individual programs together, several divisions and offices contributed to program research, development, and outreach, meaning that program materials are widely available in series throughout the collection.