Middle managerial positions which were advertised by 56 libraries in 1975 were examined. From these were drawn lists of responsibilities, work experience, and job requirements. Then 23 middle managers in five member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries were interviewed to compare their positions to those advertised. Administrators at the same libraries were also interviewed to ascertain their views on the qualifications for middle managers. The information gathered was used to test three hypotheses: (1) position advertisements exaggerate the education and experience requirements for middle management positions; (2) middle management positions in academic libraries are advertised more often in "Chronicle of Higher Education" than in the library journals examined; (3) middle management positions cannot easily be compared on the basis of organizational position, amount and type of responsibility, or type and amount of education required. The first hypothesis was not supported by the data; hypothesis two was only partially supported; and hypothesis three was supported only regarding the amount and type of responsibility. (KB)