Subject indexing in ERIC is performed by subject specialists across 16 geographically dispersed ERIC Clearinghouses, each responsible for a different niche or aspect of educational information. This phenomenon, combined with the broadness of the education field and variability of terminology therein, has led to the development at the Clearinghouses of some unique indexing applications and patterns that are particularly suitable for retrieving their own particular subsets of the educational literature. However, Clearinghouse scope areas (areas of coverage) are not isolated entities, and any given scope area can overlap with others on any given document. Indexers handling documents with scope overlaps need to be aware and have access to the indexing practices of others outside their immediate field of expertise. This handbook was designed to satisfy these needs. It contains summaries of in-house, scope-specific indexing practices, Clearinghouse-by-Clearinghouse, prepared by the indexing supervisor(s) at each Clearinghouse. Routine updates are anticipated as Clearinghouses refine or expand their instructions for new indexers or as the system as a whole changes. The handbook also contains a summary of important ERIC indexing reminders, based on comments and discussions at ERIC technical meetings. The handbook recognizes that indexing and retrieval go hand-in-hand, and ERIC searchers will find the handbook useful when accessing subject areas that crisscross Clearinghouse scope areas. It also recognizes that indexing is not an isolated task in a database like ERIC. The assignment of Descriptors and Identifiers, for instance, is closely related to the decision-making process in assigning Publication Types and Target Audiences, and guidelines are included in the handbook for these latter tasks, as well. This handbook supplements ERIC Processing Manual, Section 7--"Indexing" (IR 054 283). Other materials that should accompany usage of the handbook are the "ERIC Clearinghouse Scope of Interest Guide" (ERIC Processing Manual, Appendix A (IR 054 288)), the "Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors," and the "ERIC Identifier Authority List (IAL)." (JH)