The major objective of the IITRI Computer Search Center is to educate and link industry, academia, and government institutions to chemical and other scientific information systems and sources. The Center was developed to meet this objective and is in full operation providing services to users from a variety of machine-readable data bases with minimal restrictions and a high degree of flexibility. A new modular machine-independent PL/1 software system was developed for handling virtually any bibliographic-type data base. Research is conducted and statistics maintained to continuously study, monitor, and improve Center components, including data bases, profiles, systems, personnel functions, and user services. Education and training is provided through seminars, workshops in profile preparation, and a graduate course in "Modern Techniques in Chemical Information." The educational and marketing efforts familiarize users and potential users with the many advantages of computerized retrieval, which are the raison d'etre for the Center, including: access to wide coverage; thoroughness of search; consistency of search; interdisciplinariness of data bases; high recall; speed of search; regularity of information dissemination; timeliness; automated personal file preparation and maintenance; and cost effectiveness. (A number of pages may be illegible.) (Author/SJ)