The papers of Ernest O. Melby document his career as an educator, and are arranged into five series: Northwestern University (1934-1941), Montana State University (1941-1945), New York University (1945-1956), Michigan State University (1956-1973), Florida Atlantic University (1956-1971), and the Cleveland Conference sub series under these headings include correspondence, class materials, articles, and talks, and newspaper clippings. Two special sub series were created: one, in the NYU series entitled "Attacks on Education," is a detailed file of correspondence and articles (1948-1954), dealing with attacks on progressive education, and Melby's defense of his theories. The other special sub series appears in the MSU series, and relates to the formation of the Mott Program for Community Improvement (1957-1971).