Based on the assumption that librarians can benefit from a better knowledge and understanding of information needs and behavior, this paper presents a review of the literature on information needs and information seeking behavior from 1971 to 1986, a report on a survey of 100 graduate students enrolled in a course on educational research at Memphis State University (MSU) in Tennessee, and a consideration of the implications of this research for bibliographic instruction. The data collected for the MSU study are also compared with data from the Summers group study of 1,078 educators in Canada which was conducted in 1984. The survey instrument and an 86-item reference list are attached. (RP)