The State Capacity Building Program is designed to improve educational practice by encouraging state educational agencies (SEAs) to develop their capacity for gaining access to information resources and to link such information to the needs of educators. This report is a comparative account of the first nine SEAs funded through the NIE program: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana, New York, South Carolina, and Texas. Each agency was visited for two days, during which time interviews were conducted to discuss each project's state context, history, program proposal, clients, information resources, linkage mechanisms, leadership, evaluation, and technical assistance. An overview of the NIE program is followed by individual state reports. A summary chapter then examines similarities and differences among the projects. Collectively, the report presents a compilation of dissemination practices and change strategies which are being used in the development of a nationwide dissemination network. A glossary of terms, annotated bibliography of documents consulted in the preparation of this report, and an interview guide used during the state visits are appended. This is the first of five reports on Phase I of NTS's preparation study for a full scale evaluation of the program. (Author/JPF)