The Bernard W. Reed Papers are divided into four groups: correspondence, dissertation materials, subject files, and course material. Reed's own classification scheme has been followed in arranging his papers. The inclusive dates of the collection are 1915-1962, but the bulk of the material is dated 1935-1960. The collection contains much primary material on the origins and history of the Association of University Evening Colleges (AUEC) and some primary material from the period 1955-1962 on the National University Extension Association (NUEA)and the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults (CSLEA).

The Correspondence folder consists of typescript and carbon copies of incoming and outgoing letters, all concerning adult education research. Correspondence is arranged chronologically.

Dissertation materials for the most part have been arranged chronologically by the approximate date of use and creation, not by the publication date of the materials he collected. Materials dealing with the method of writing a thesis are followed by his 1959 proposal, collected data, thesis chapters, and 1960 dissertation. However, from the time his proposal was written until the writing of his thesis began, it is not clear in what order he collected or worked on the material, and the organization is alphabetical for that period.

Material in this section consists primarily of typescript and handwritten notes as well as printed material concerning plans for his thesis and the history of AUEC -- its formation, organization and purposes. There are summaries of the Proceedings of the annual conventions, roster of officers, and portions of transcripts of interviews held with AUEC executives. (The phonotapes from which the transcripts were taken are found within the AUEC collection.) These interviews with founders and early members not only provide details of AUEC history, but include opinions of current adult education methods and organizations.

Also included in this category are three small notebooks, and dittoed and mimeographed materials concerning the activities of the Association of Urban Universities (AUU), NUEA, and CSLEA, especially as they relate to AUEC history.

Subject files contains an assortment of material, most of which deals with adult education and evening colleges. Subjects are arranged alphabetically. In this section, the listed dates are the actual dates of publication, not the dates Reed used the material. In two categories folder contents have been listed within the shelf list. There is an alphabetical list., by author, of thesis abstracts and proposals which Reed collected (including those of notable adult educators Malcolm S. Knowles, A.A. Liveright, and Roy J. Ingham); and a list of book reviews which follows Reed's subject classification scheme. Book reviews are handwritten, typescript, dittoed, mimeographed, carbon, and published material. Abstracts are either dittoed or mimeographed. The complete thesis included in this section is a typescript carbon copy.

Also included are lengthy typescript quotations from a number of books relating to adult education, arranged alphabetically by author. Other folders in this section deal with national and international adult education, the evening college and university extension services, and liberal education for adults. In these folders are special course description, pamphlets, addresses, clippings, and handwritten and typescript notes and quotations on the education of adults. Two remaining folders concern the relationship of education and leisure — mostly typed notes for a paper — and methods of studying one's community.

Course materials dates from Reed's years at the University of Chicago. Reed added substantially to the original course materials, continuing to use course structures as an organizational framework for carefully collected items on adult education topics such as teaching methods, group dynamics, and communication.

The papers in the collection consist of published reprints, news clippings, extensive (typewritten) excerpts, dittos, photocopies, and Reed's own notes. Two courses (Education 346 and 369) date from the years 1957 and 1958, but the collected materials extend up to 1961. Reed's notes clearly indicate that Education 346 was taught by Cyril Houle. Another source for course materials is the Industrial Relations Center (IRC) at the University of Chicago.

These materials originally were collected in large notebooks, divided into packets. This organization has been preserved, except that the notes, handouts, and bibliographies for each unit have been placed in the initial folder of that section. There are several breaks in the sequence of packets, as well as sections where no packet was indicated. In the latter instance, the material remains in its original position in the collection, without a packet number (or letter). Many of the materials are undated.

Separate, complete sets of course materials from the University of Chicago's Industrial Relations Center, Leadership and Human Relations Program (1957, 1958) are included: both the "Conference Leader's Guide" and student instruction books comprise ten booklet sets contained in looseleaf binders. Other materials from IRC courses can be found in folders at the end of the collection, along with other course materials from unidentified sources.