A study was conducted to examine library data and trends among a group of 42 liberal arts colleges known as the "Bowdoin List." Questionnaires were completed and returned by 35 of the colleges, and interviews were conducted with the library directors at 22 of the colleges. The first of 10 sections in this report presents the statistical data from the Bowdoin List libraries and compares them with Association of Research Libraries (ARL) data. Sections 2 through 5 examine data related to various categories of expenditures for both groups of libraries, and section 6 provides information about the reported state of automation in the college libraries. Information from the interviews with library directors is presented in section 7, and conclusions and acknowledgements in sections 8 and 9. The final portions contain the notes and appendixes, which include a copy of the questionnaire and data from the study. Major findings suggest that: (1) the rule that academic libraries' collections double every 16 years is highly suspect; (2) the time honored 60-30-10 breakdown of salaries, materials, and "other" is no longer the norm; (3) prices for books and periodicals grew more rapidly from 1967 to 1977 than for the ensuing decade; (4) expenditures for both college and academic libraries have exceeded the increases in both the Consumer Price Index and the Higher Education Price Index; (5) the funding for online systems most often comes from outside the library's annual budget; and (6) all directors interviewed believe that the advantages of automation outweigh the disadvantages. (30 references) (SD)