Of the 13 essays presented in this special issue on libraries and adult education, 8 focus on programs and services from the public library for adult learners. These essays provide information on: (1) an Education Information Centers Program (EIC) designed to complement employment skills training provided under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) (P. Tarin); (2) the Westchester Education Brokering Service (WEBS), a public library/university collaboration (J. Thresher); (3) the Adult Independent Learner Project (AIL) in the New York Public Library (B. Shapiro); (4) AIL in the Nassau Library System (D. Puryear); (5) adult independent learners and the Steele Memorial Library of Elmira (C. Bossard); (6) the effect of AIL on the Ramapo Catskill Library System (RCLS)(R. W. Anglin); (7) a study by the New York State Library exploring community-based learning in public libraries (K. M. Fiels); and (8) the role of programming in public library service for the community (M. L. Bob). The remaining five essays deal with intellectual freedom (R. K. Molz); political lobbying on the part of the library community (H. T. Farley), patterns of use of New York State Public Library's film collections (J. W. Palmer), the New York State Interlibrary Loan Program (NYSILL) (J. G. Rollins), and receipt of federal funds by college and university libraries in fiscal year 1981 (E. J. Josey). A 1926 article by Melvil Dewey on adult education concludes this special issue. (ESR)