Much of the content of this study arises from personal experience and private correspondence, as well as from observation and discussions during visits to countries where library services for the handicapped and disadvantaged exist. (Groups studied are: hospital patients; visually, physically and mentally handicapped; and the elderly, housebound and institutionalized.) It is apparent that libraries for the handicapped should have a high priority in every country's library program. Provisions for these groups should be a statutory requirement in library legislation. Every country with special library services has a staffing problem due to lack of proper training and professional blindness to this speciality by librarians. Efforts should be made in every country where services are uneven to seek co-operation and co-ordination with voluntary organizations in effecting a better service. Without co-ordination between the different concerned authorities, there will be an unevenness of service and a duplication of effort both undesirable and uneconomic, which prohibits libraries for the handicapped from developing in an adequate and satisfactory way. (Author/SG)