A collection of nine commissioned papers, one each from Scotland and South Africa and eight from Australia, address provisions for and problems with distance education for librarianship. Components and applications of directed private study in Scotland and the development, educational philosophy, methods, problems, and standards of correspondence courses in librarianship at the University of South Africa comprise Part I. Part II focuses on Australian experiences in external studies in librarianship. Four of these papers describe various programs, and together they discuss program development, teaching methods, problems, degree requirements, student profile, cost, courses, student needs, and contact modes. Isolation and the external student, a feasibility study on an external study for librarianship, and an evaluation of a pilot study combining on-campus and off-campus work are the topics of the remaining three papers. A discussion by the editor of philosophies and practices of external studies serves as an introduction to the papers. References are included for six of the papers, and biographical notes on the authors are provided. (RBF)