Based on statistical data submitted by almost 3,000 academic libraries as part of the 1978-1979 Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), this report develops a composite profile of an academic research library. Use of cluster analysis of library characteristics to find institutions that were quantitatively similar to one another identified four clusters of libraries. For one of these clusters, a basic group of 127 libraries that share library characteristics, factor analysis was used to derive component score coefficients for 12 statistical variables: volumes held, volumes added, total microforms, expenditures for library materials, expenditures for binding, total salaries and wages, other operating expenditures, full time equivalent (FTE) professional staff, FTE nonprofessional staff, interlibrary loans borrowed, circulation, and total reference, directional, and group transactions. These coefficients were weighted for the 12 variables, multiplied by the data for that variable for the individual library, and summed up to provide a component score for that library. Component scores were computed for each of the 2,943 libraries for which data were available. In the appendix, component scores are given for each of the libraries, making it possible to measure each institution against the statistical research library model derived by this study. (THC)