Children's Television Workshop

Administrative History/Information:

• Founded 1968 by Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, Gerald Lesser and others
• Cooney's study on television for preschool children for the Carnegie Corporation of New York led to founding of CTW and the production of Sesame Street
• Other landmark shows include:
  • 3-2-1 Contact
  • The Best of Families
  • The Electric Company
  • Feeling Good
• In 2000, Children's Television Workshop changed its name to Sesame Workshop which is inspired by two of its greatest strengths: Sesame Street and "Workshop" - "the embodiment of a creative, inventive environment where collaboration across disciplines brings children and families the best that media offers."
• Website: http://www.sesameworkshop.org/

Related Collections:

• Children's Television Workshop Archives
• Chalmers Marquis Papers
• Keith W. Mielke Papers
• Jim Robertson Papers: Kenneth Oberholtzer Interview
• Warren F. Seibert Papers
• Paul K. Taff Papers
• Frank Withrow Papers
• Jeane R. Young Papers

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Reference Shelf Materials

Reading Room

Adler, Richard and Walter S. Baer. Aspen Notebook: Cable and Continuing Education. New York: Praeger, 1973. BCAST REF LC 6574 .A34

Association for Public Broadcasting. Educational Views. Washington, DC: Association for Public Broadcasting, 1990. NPBA REF HE 8700.8 .A8 1990

Blakely, Robert J. The People's Instrument: A Philosophy of Programming for Public Television. Washington, Public Affairs Press, 1971. BCAST PN 1992.8 .P8 B47

Cater, Douglass and Michael J. Nyhan, eds. The Future of Public Broadcasting. New York: Praeger, 1976.

• BCAST HE 8700.8 .F87
• 384.574 C (NAB Books)

Cooney, Joan Ganz. "Sesame Street: The Experience of One Year," Television Quarterly, Volume IX, No. 3 (Summer 1970): 9-13. Periodicals

Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Office of Educational Activities. Patterns of Performance: Public Broadcasting and Education 1974-1976. Washington, DC: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1977.

• BCAST LB 1044.8 .C37
• 371.335 P (NAB Books)

Day, James.  The Vanishing Vision: The Inside Story of Public Television. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995. HE 8700.79 .U6 D39

Finch, Christopher. Jim Henson: The Works: The Art, the Magic, the Imagination. New York, Random House, 1993. PN 1992 .H46 F56

Fisch, Shalom M. and Rosemarie T. Truglio. "G" is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001 LC 6579 .S47 G58 2001

Kendig, Frank. "Kids and Science: Making Contact at Last," Television Quarterly, Vol. XVII, No. 1 (Spring 1980): 73-76. Periodicals

Kolucki, Barbara. Sharing the Street: Activities for Children. New York: Community Education Services Division, Children's Television Workshop, 1978. LB 1029 .G3 K64

Land, Herman W. The Children's Television Workshop: How and Why It Works, Summary and Overview of the Final Report. Jericho, NY: Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services, 1972. PN 1992.8 .C46 L26 1972

Lesser, Gerald S. Children and Television: Lessons From Sesame Street. New York: Random House, 1974.

• BCAST PN 1992.77 .S43 L4
• 791.455/1L (NAB Books)

Melody, William. Children's Television: The Economics of Exploitation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973.

• BCAST HQ 784 .T4 M4 1973
• 791.455/1M (NAB Books)

Palmer, Edward L.

• Television and America's Children: A Crisis of Neglect. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
  • NPBA Collection: PN 1992.8 .C46 P36 1988
  • LAB Collection: 791.455/1P (NAB Books)
• Toward a Literate World: Television in Literacy Education - Lessons from the Arab Region. Boulder: Westview Press, 1993. LB 1044.7 .P28 1993

Polsky, Richard. Getting to Sesame Street: Origins of the Children's Television Workshop. New York: Praeger, 1974.

• NPBA Collection: PN 1992.77 .S43 P6
• LAB Collection:
  • PN 1992.77 .S43 P6
  • 791.455/1P (NAB Books)

Silverman, Fred. “And What About the Children?” Television Quarterly, Vol. XVII, No. 1 (Spring 1980): 79-86. Periodicals

Walker, Greta. “Researching The Best of Families,” Television Quarterly, Vol. XIV, No. IV (Winter 1977-1978): 61-65. Periodicals

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By Request

Children's Television Workshop.

• 1979 Corporate Review: Sesame Street / 10th Season. 1979. Folder: 054
• "A Proposal for a Sixty-Minute Television Special on Talking with Children About Death." January, 1976. Folder: 545
• CTW Review 1973-1975. 1975. Folder: 056
• The Electric Company. 1971. [PN 1992.77]
• "The Electric Company. Television and Reading, 1971-1980: A Mid-Experiment Appraisal." 1980. Folder: 781
• Ghostwriter: Teacher's Guide. 1992. Folder: 688
• Square One TV: Curriculum Connection. Teacher's Guide. 1990. Folder: 711
• Square One TV: Fun Student Activity Book. 1992. Folder: 715
• Square One TV Goes to School: Teacher's Guide. 1991. Folder: 714
• Square One TV: Program Listing Guide - Seasons 1-4. 1991. Folder: 713
• Square One TV: Program Listings - Seasons I, II and III. Folder: 712

Children's Television Workshop. Research Division. Sesame Street Research Bibliography: Selected Citations Relating to Sesame Street, 1969-1989. 1989. Folder: 057

Compagnie de Coproduction Internationale. “Reflective Commentary on the Context of Education in the French Speaking Countries of Africa in the Perspective of the Possible Introduction of a French Showing of Sesame Street in These Territories.” Folder: 705

Connell, David. Itty Bitty Nitty-Gritty Farm and City Little Kiddies Show and How It Grew. 1971. Folder: 771

Cook, Thomas D. and Ross F. Conner. "The Educational Impact" Journal of Communication, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1976): Sesame Street Around the World, pp. 155-164. Folder: 701

Davidson, Robert, ed. Children's Television Workshop: The Early Years. 1992. Folder: 672

Diaz-Guerrero, Rogelio, et al. “Plaza Sesamo in Mexico: An Evaluation.” Journal of Communication, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1976): Sesame Street Around the World: 145-154. Folder: 701

Doan, Richard K. "Public TV's Most Powerful Friend...May Also Qualify as Its Worst Enemy." TV Guide, September 15, 1973: 6-10. Folder: 120

Dreibelbis, Gary Charles. Case Study of Joan Ganz Cooney and Her Involvement in the Development of the Children's Television Workshop. Dissertation, Education, Northern Illinois University, 1982. Theses/Dissertations

“Editorial re: Sesame Street.” Educational/Industrial Broadcasting, June 1970: 44. Folder: 131

Enter Vol. 1, No. 1 - Vol. 2, No. 7 (October 1983 - May 1985) Periodicals

Francke, Linda. "The Games People Play on Sesame Street." New York, April 5, 1971: 26-29. Folder: 158

Goldsen, Rose K. and Azriel Bibliowicz. “Plaza Sesamo: 'Neutral' Language or 'Cultural Assault?'” Journal of Communication, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1976): Sesame Street Around the World: pp. 124-125. Folder: 701

Hall, Eve R., et al. "Television and Children's Problem-Solving Behavior: A Synopsis of an Evaluation of the Effects of Square One TV." Journal of Mathematical Behavior, Vol. 9 (1990): 161-174. Folder: 708

"Kid Heaven," Channels of Communication, October/November 1981. Folder: 222

Levin, Stephen R. and Daniel R. Anderson. "The Development of Attention." Journal of Communication, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1976): Sesame Street Around the World: 126-135. Folder: 701

Liebert, Robert M. "Evaluating the Evaluators." Journal of Communication, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1976): Sesame Street Around the World: 165-171. Folder: 701

Morrisett, Lloyd N. "Television, America's Neglected Teacher" Television & Children 1984. Folder: 272

Palmer, Edward L. "Sesame Street: Shaping Broadcast Television to Needs of the Preschooler" Educational Technology 1971. Folder: 340

Palmer, Edward L., et al. "Sesame Street: Patterns of International Adaptation." Journal of Communication, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1976): Sesame Street Around the World: 109-123. Folder: 701

"Sesame at One," Newsweek, November 16, 1970: 71. Folder: 403

Salomon, Gavriel. "Cognitive Skill Learning Across Cultures." Journal of Communication, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1976): Sesame Street Around the World: 138-144. Folder: 701

Yamamoto, Toru. "The Japanese Experience." Journal of Communication, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 1976): Sesame Street Around the World: 136-137. Folder: 701

Related Collections in Other Repositories

• Carnegie Corporation of New York Records
• Children's Television Workshop Project, Oral History, 1972
• David Connell. Reminiscences: Oral History
• Joan Ganz Cooney. Reminiscences: Oral History
• Robert Davidson. Reminiscences: Oral History
• Barbara Finberg. Reminiscences: Oral History
• Phil Lange Papers
• Edward Meade, Jr. Reminiscences: Oral History
• Lloyd N. Morrisett. Reminiscences: Oral History

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