The American Historical Association (AHA) has been providing bibliographic services for its membership by reviewing the monographic literature in the "American Historical Review" (AHR), using a list of books the AHA receives, and employing its periodical current awareness service comprised of "Recently Published Articles" (RPA) and its spinoff, "Writings on American History" (WAH). Once historians could cover a field of study, defined by geographic and chronological limits, as a chosen specialization. Such specificity has become blurred by the growth of regional studies, comparative history, the interdisciplinary approach to history, and reconceptualization of historical inquiry. Because of the massive amounts of material to be surveyed; the complexity of designing search strategies using a myriad of methods, techniques, and tools; the rapid change in current information technology; and the aforementioned trends in historical studies, it is necessary that the historical profession re-examine the role of AHA and its bibliographic services. Of particular importance to information retrieval would be the study of language that historians use to describe and discuss historical phenomena. The production process for RPA and WAH is discussed in detail (with a flow chart) and 41 recommendations for change are made. The report emphasizes the need to convert AHA's effort with RPA/WAH into machine-readable, standardized formats for an accumulative, permanent database. Proposals by ABC-CLIO and Kraus International Publications concerning possible co-publication arrangements with AHA are given. A bibliography of 36 related items is included. (PPB)