Self-directed learning is an idea which has come of age. It has become one of the key concepts in adult education in the last decade, inspiring numerous research studies. As a picture of adults as frequent self-directed learners has emerged, so a number of practitioners have sought to bridge the research-practice gap in this area. The contributors to this volume of New Directions for Continuing Education have all had substantial experience in trying to implement principles of self-directed learning in their work. They show how these principles can be introduced into health education, hospitals, universities, libraries, museums, adult education centers, and colleges, and they explore the problems and pleasures of working in this nontraditional mode.