A study conducted at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (W.A.I.T.) investigated the declining use of an external library collection consisting of 12,000 volumes and 1,600 photocopies of articles from journals and monographs. The problem was approached along several avenues: (1) a survey was made of study guides to ascertain what emphasis was placed on the library collection and how much use students were supposed to make of it; (2) interviews were held with staff members; (3) 1974 and 1975 usage statistics were analyzed and compared to establish usage and borrowing patterns in different subject areas and reveal any variations which could account for changes in loan figures; and (4) questionnaires were sent to all external students eligible to use the library. Findings indicate that most students relied only on the reading material suggested by their lecturers; external students did not have enough exposure to the mechanics of information selection and retrieval; 64 percent of the students who responded to the questionnaire had access to materials at other libraries; and, while the number of students eligible to use the library collection had increased by 49 percent, the number of registered borrowers had increased by only 25 percent. Appended are graphs depicting the number of books borrowed during 1974 and 1975 and tables listing enrollment and loan data, number of potential and registered borrowers at W.A.I.T. by subject discipline, and average borrowing rates by subject discipline for the fall 1975 semester. (Author/JPF)