Covers extent and distribution of American library resources, types of libraries, cooperative acquisition programs, microforms, bibliographic control, subject specialization, surveys of holdings, nature of research holdings, research library standards, collection development methods, and the future of the book. (LS)

Technical progress in transmission and microreproduction have created a need for drastic revisions in the traditional research library's goal of autonomy in serving the needs of its clientele. Trends toward viewing library collections as segments of a national resource are summarized. (JS)