Guidelines to help ERIC clearinghouses reach lay persons and inform them of the resources available through the ERIC information network are provided. The guidelines were developed following on-site interviews with persons who have expertise in information dissemination and/or who are actively involved in providing information to citizens involved in educational decision making. The document is organized into six sections in addition to a short introduction. Section 2 presents an historical overview of citizen participation and discusses the implications of citizen involvement in educational decision making for ERIC clearinghouses. Section 3 contains the guidelines for ERIC clearinghouses that wish to expand their user services to meet the information needs of the community. Section 4 is an annotated list of readings on citizen participation in education which suggests resource material to help implement the guidelines. Section 5 contains suggestions about how to conduct a workshop for citizen groups. Finally, section 6 describes an action plan for educational problem solving. (Author/DE)