This document describes and presents the materials gathered during a project to collect, preserve, and document the history of the Mountain Plains Adult Education Association (MPAEA). First, the procedures used to develop the MPAEA archives are traced. Presented next is an overview of the mission, development, and major activities of the MPAEA, which was organized in the mid-1940s in Denver, Colorado, as a support/professional development opportunity for adult educators and is now an 8-state entity with approximately 600 members representing universities, community colleges, community education, prison facility education, adult basic education, and business training. Next, the value of the MPAEA archives is documented by comparing its written content with regional and national publications from the same time periods. The analysis is organized by the following periods of the MPAEA's development: birth/infancy (1940s-1962); growth/development (1963-1972); coming of age (1973-1982); and maturity (1983-1995). Concluding the document are a brief discussion of the archives and recommendations regarding their final location. Contains 191 references. Appended are the following: subject/series and chronological lists of the archives' contents; list of photographs in the archives; first MPAEA constitution; facts regarding the MPAEA in 1973-1992; archivist duties list/agreement form; and additional information concerning establishment of the MPAEA in 1942. (MN)