  To quantify the distribution of bar shapes in spiral galaxies, we have
analysed 113 H-band and 89 B-band galaxy images from the Ohio State University
Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey. Parameters measuring bar shape and position along
the Hubble sequence were obtained in each waveband. Evidence was found for a
bimodality in the distribution of bar shape, implying that barred and unbarred
galaxies are not just the extrema of a single distribution, and that any
evolution between these two states must occur on a rapid timescale. Objective
bar shapes measured in the H-band were found to be more closely related to
visual classifications than B-band bar strengths, as the B-band images are
somewhat compromised by localised star formation, especially in later-type
systems. Galaxies were found to be more centrally concentrated in the infrared.
Later type galaxies showed greater asymmetry in the optical than the infrared,
presumably again due to localised star formation, but on average the bar
strengths in the two bands were found to be the same.
