THIS STUDY OF "PREPRINT" DISTRIBUTION IN THEORECTICAL HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS USED A QUESTIONNAIRE CIRCULATED TO ALL KNOWN HIGH ENERGY THEORISTS. A SECOND QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT TO A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF "PREPRINT LIBRARIANS" AT VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD. BASED ON THIS DATA, THE STUDY CONCLUDED THAT AN EXPERIMENT WITH CENTRALIZED "PREPRINT" DISTRIBUTION IS CLEARLY DESIRABLE BUT THAT GREAT CAUTION MUST BE EXERCISED. CONSEQUENTLY, A TWO-STEP EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE PHYSICS COMMUNITY. THE FIRST STEP, TO RUN FOR 18 MONTHS, WOULD PROVIDE A CENTRALIZED "PREPRINT" ANNOUNCEMENT SERVICE AND A DIRECTORY OF HIGH ENERGY THEORISTS. A FORMAT FOR THE ANNOUNCEMENT SERVICE HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO INDICATE SUBJECT CATEGORY, TYPE AND STATUS OF EACH ENTRY. THE SECOND STEP, TO RUN FOR THE LAST 12 MONTHS, WOULD ADD AN EXPERIMENTAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. THIS WOULD PROVIDE FOR DISTRIBUTION OF COPIES OF "PREPRINTS," DIRECTLY TO SELECTED AND AUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS. TO HELP IN DETERMINING THE DEMAND FOR SUCH SERVICES, CHARGES WOULD BE MADE FOR ABOUT THE LAST SIX MONTHS. APPENDIXES INCLUDE THE QUESTIONNAIRE USED, AND A REPORT ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE. THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE FROM THE CLEARINGHOUSE FOR FEDERAL SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION, SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA 22151, $3.00 FOR HARD COPY, $0.65 FOR MICROFICHE, 114 PAGES. (AUTHOR/JB)