In response to serious concerns about the dramatic increases in college and university costs, the Department of Education solicited proposals in May 1987 for innovative projects to explore means of cost reduction or containment which promise significant cost savings, whether accrued in the short- or long-term. The solicitation for cost containment projects also gave emphasis to approaches that can be transferred to other institutions or other groups of institutions. The final report of this project describes the organizational structure and purposes of the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), identifies cost containment issues addressed by the project, and offers the WRLC solutions to these issues. Presented are benefit analyses of projected capital investment and operational costs for WRLC programs, when actual costs and cost savings are known or when they can be estimated. Descriptions of the various approaches under consideration and discussions of the major cost factors are provided when information on costs and cost savings are not yet available for programs to be added in later phases. The Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws for the WRLC, a profile of the WRLC, cost estimates for database creation, and a successful application to the National Endowment for the Humanities are appended to the report. (37 references) (SD)