ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) was the first attempt to develop a systematic way of collecting, storing, organizing, disseminating, and analysing information in the field of education. ERIC operates at four levels. At the top is the governmental level office, central ERIC, which supervises the ERIC Processing and Reference Facility, the ERIC Document Reproduction Service, and the ERIC Clearinghouses. Next come the sixteen Clearinghouses which are located at various academic centers in the United States and which serve as funnels for the acquiring and processing of information in separate fields. The commercial component of ERIC is made up of those firms concerned with the processing and reproduction of ERIC materials. ERIC publishes regularly the "Current Index to Journals in Education" for journal material and "Research in Education" for document material. Bibliographic data and abstracts are prepared for all material which can be obtained by computer retrieval. The fourth level of ERIC are the users who gain access to previously unavailable educational material. (WH)