Discusses sources of available data on reference questions asked and answered in public libraries, and analyzes data collected between 1970 and 1985 in nine states. National data from libraries in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain are also presented. (Author/MES)

As background for defining public library adult services in the 1980s the perceived role of the public library in the United States since its inception is summarized and changing definitions are analyzed. Data collection and analysis plans for the Adult Services in the Eighties Project are described. (EM)

A survey of public and academic libraries conducted to obtain information on length of reference desk shifts and proportion of the reference librarian's time spent at the desk found the two-hour weekday shift to be the most common, and that librarians typically work 7 to 21 hours per week at the desk. (EM)