The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was a collaborative effort by seven governments and three intergovernmental organizations to describe and compare the literacy skills of people from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each country drew a probability sample from which results representative of the civilian noninstitutionalized population aged 16-65 could be derived. Between 1,370 and 3,053 individuals in each country completed survey instruments in English, French, German, Dutch, Polish, or Swedish. The findings were reported in four ways by three researchers. Irwin Kirsch (Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey) presented a framework for understanding/interpreting literacy levels on three scales (prose, document, and quantitative) and discussed the study results in the context of literacy's multifaceted nature. Stan Jones (Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada) analyzed the distribution of literacy across national populations and among different demographic subgroups and explored the relationship between literacy practices (at work and in the community) and levels of literacy. T. Scott Murray (Statistics Canada) considered the policy implications of the study findings. Major findings were as follows: (1) important differences in literacy skills exist across and within nations; (2) literacy skill deficits affect large proportions of the adult population; (3) literacy is strongly correlated with life chances and use of opportunities; (4) literacy is not synonymous with educational attainment; (5) literacy skills are maintained through regular use; and (7) adults with low literacy levels do not usually acknowledge or recognize they have a problem. (Seventy-one figures/tables are included. Appended are a list of survey participants and 82 additional tables detailing the distribution and practice of literacy.) (MN)