This report presents tabulations for the 2012 Academic Libraries Survey (ALS) conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences. The 2012 ALS population included postsecondary institutions with all of the following: total library expenditures that exceed $10,000; an organized collection of printed or other materials, or a combination thereof; a staff trained to provide and interpret such materials as required to meet the informational, cultural, recreational, or educational needs of the clientele; an established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the clientele; and the physical facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule. This definition includes libraries that are part of learning resource centers. Branch and independent libraries are defined as auxiliary library service outlets with quarters separate from the central library that houses the basic collection. The central library administers the branches. In ALS, libraries on branch campuses that have separate NCES identification numbers are reported as separate libraries. When academic libraries are referred to in this report, they will always be entities that are informational resources within degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States, including institutions that are eligible for Title IV aid and branch campuses of Title IV-eligible institutions. NCES has conducted the ALS since 1966 at various intervals. However, beginning with the 1988 survey, the ALS has been conducted on a 2-year cycle. The survey focuses on library services, collections, library staff, expenditures, electronic services, and information literacy. Because the purpose of this report is to introduce new NCES data through the presentation of tables containing descriptive information, only selected findings are presented. These findings have been chosen to demonstrate the range of information available from the study rather than to discuss all of the observed differences or focus on any particular issue. Three appendices present: (1) Technical Notes; (2) Glossary; and (3) Survey Questionnaire and Instructions. (Contains 16 tables.)