This work as one of a series in the Survey of the Behavioral and Social Sciences conducted by the National Academy of Sciences and the Social Science Research Council attempts to answer the questions: 1) who are historians? 2) what do they do? 3) how do they work? 4) what are their needs? 5) what can be done about the needs? The answers come from a panel of working historians which coordinated their efforts to devote a chapter to these questions. The report is directed to both the layman and the professional historians. A final chapter lists eight recommendations for improving the teaching and research in history. Two appendices are included which give the schools sampled with a questionnaire as an aid to writing the report and some discussion on how the questionnaire was used. (CWB)