Collection inventory

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Clearinghouse Resources for Educators of Adults (CREA) Records

An inventory of its records at Syracuse University


The adult education holdings are collectively known as the
Alexander N. Charters Library of Resources for Educators of Adults.

Finding aid created by: MRR
Date: 23 May 2006

Biographical History

The Clearinghouse Resources for Educators of Adults (CREA) began operation as a state-wide grant-funded program at Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY) in November 1975. Its stated purpose was to provide access to and information on professional development material aimed at administrators, teachers, counselors, and others working in adult and continuing education. CREA identified, acquired, cataloged and housed some 1800 relevant print and non-print items which it then made available for loan to New York State educators. CREA also developed and published a number of subject-matter bibliographies on topics such as English as a Second Language (ESL), administration and management, teacher education, and program development and instructional techniques. Eventually its mission expanded to include organizing or offering regional workshops and colloquia on topics related to adult and continuing education. CREA operated until 1981, when the State Education Department (Albany, NY) declined to renew its funding.

Donald P. Holmwood served as director of CREA from 1975 to 1978, after which William Rivera assumed leadership.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Clearinghouse Resources for Educators of Adults (CREA) Records comprise the files of the organization over its six-year lifespan. The collection consists of administrative files, correspondence, financial information, printed material, promotional material, proposal forms and instructions, proposals themselves, publications and reports.

Administrative files contains collection information, order forms and mailing lists, policies and procedures, etc. Correspondence holds business correspondence and includes directors, graduate assistants and others who worked with or for CREA at Syracuse University as well as correspondence with external organizations such as the State Education Department (SED) and ERIC. Of particular interest is the material on CREA refunding, as it demonstrated the support for and usefulness of CREA. Financial information includes budget amendments (because CREA was grant-funded, budget amendments exceeding $500 or 10% required approval from SED) as well as internal ledgers and account printouts. Printed material and Promotional material offer clippings, press releases and other instances of CREA in the news.

As a grant-funded program which operated on a year-to-year basis, CREA had to reapply each year for renewal of its funding from SED. Proposal forms and instructions contains the requirements for these applications, while Proposals contains drafts, revisions and final versions of all six proposals submitted by CREA to SED. (This material has been organized as well as possible, given that xerox copies of previous budgets and proposals were often marked up as drafts for later versions, so that dates are not always definitive.)

CREA was an active disseminator of information, and Publications includes articles and papers by CREA staff members, subject matter bibliographies, and complete or nearly-complete runs of the CREA newsletter, CREA-tivity in New York, and the Federal Register Review. Reports is divided into reports about CREA (e.g. quarterly and annual progress reports, expense reports, and final evaluations) which were required by the SED, and reports by CREA, whch include a variety of internal evaluations, surveys, assessments, white papers, and project evaluations.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

The library holds a considerable number of collections related to adult and continuing education. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing. In particular, see also the papers of Dr. Alexander Charters, who was directly connected with CREA.

Subject Headings

Persons

Charters, Alexander N.
Hiemstra, Roger.
Rivera, William McLeod, 1934-

Corporate Bodies

Syracuse University. -- Clearinghouse of Resources for Educators of Adults.

Associated Titles

CREA-tivity in New York.
Federal Register Review.

Subjects

Adult education -- New York (State)
Adult education teachers -- Training of.

Genres and Forms

Articles.
Brochures.
Correspondence.
Drafts (documents)
Manuscripts (document genre)
Proposals.
Reports.

Occupations

Adult education teachers.
Educators.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Clearinghouse Resources for Educators of Adults (CREA) Records,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Clearinghouse Resources for Educators of Adults (CREA), 1982.

Table of Contents

Administrative files

Correspondence

Financial

Printed material

Publicity

Proposal forms and instructions

Proposals

Publications

Reports

Inventory