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Because alcohol use plays a major role in many injuries that require hospital care, there is increasing interest in developing interventions to address alcohol problems among emergency department and trauma center patients. The aim of the current study was to extend past research on brief interventions by investigating the use of a self-help manual to treat problem drinkers in a hospital trauma center. Forty injured patients who were either intoxicated at the time of injury or screened positive for harmful drinking were randomly assigned to receive either a brief assessment and a self-help booklet with no more than 5 minutes clinician contact (bibliotherapy) or brief assessment only. Follow-up data obtained five months after hospital discharge indicated that patients in both conditions made significant reductions in drinking and associated negative consequences. There was a trend toward further treatment-seeking …