A statewide study was conducted to assess the extent of services offered by Education Information Centers (EICs) in Ohio. The following four objectives guided the project activities: (1) to catalog, describe and analyze current statewide resources and services for providing educational information, guidance, counseling, and referral services to all individuals in Ohio; (2) to assess, through surveys and site visits, statewide needs for educational information, guidance, counseling and referral services of a representative sample of all individuals in Ohio; (3) to study the feasibility and requirements of a statewide educational information system, including relationships between providers and integration for system components; and (4) to suggest alternative models for delivering statewide educational information with regard to the factors of multiple sources and providers, diverse consumer needs and limited resources. (The final report of this study is presented in five parts. This document, Part I, includes an overview of the purpose of the study, the legislation authorizing EICs, and the rationale for using Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas as the basis for analysis. This document also reviews pertinent literature which supports and examines various aspects of the study, including the typical populations served and techniques used by other states for providing educational/career information and counseling. However, the main purpose of Part I is to describe the procedures and outcomes of the study.) (BM)