THE CRITERION FOR THE UTILIZATION OF INNOVATION IN THE STUDY CONDUCTED BY AIR WAS THE PRESENCE OF INTRAORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE. INNOVATORS WERE DEFINED AS PERSONS WHO HAD INTRODUCED NEW PROGRAMS OR SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THEIR INSTITUTIONS. THE STUDY SETTINGS WERE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HOSPITALS FOR THE MENTALLY RETARDED AND THE MENTALLY ILL. IN THE EXPLORATORY PHASE, POTENTIAL USERS OF INNOVATION WERE IDENTIFIED, DATA COLLECTIONS METHODS WERE EVALUATED AND TESTED, AND SELECTED LITERATURE WAS REVIEWED. INTERVIEWS AT SIX INSTITUTIONS WERE CONDUCTED WITH SUPERINTENDENTS, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS, LIBRARIANS, INNOVATORS, AND INTERESTED STAFF MEMBERS. SEVEN CONCLUSIONS WERE REACHED: (1) PRACTITIONERS IN THE MENTAL HEALTH FIELD RELY PRIMARILY ON WORD-OF-MOUTH AND PERSONAL CONTACT IN OBTAINING INFORMATION; (2) INNOVATORS RELY ON PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES FOR INFORMATION AND STIMULATION; (3) LACK OF FUNDS OFTEN LIMITS INNOVATORS FROM ATTENDING CONFERENCES; (4) EXPERIENCE IS PERCEIVED AS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FORMAL RESEARCH FINDINGS IN CONTRIBUTING TO INNOVATION; (5) THE EXTENT AND MAGNITUDE OF INNOVATION SEEM TO BE RELATED TO THE AMOUNT OF ENCOURAGEMENT PROVIDED BY ADMINISTRATION; (6) INNOVATION IS MORE LIKELY TO BE SUCCESSFUL WHEN IT RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM PERSONS WHO ARE TO IMPLEMENT IT; AND (7) THERE IS USUALLY LITTLE INTERACTION BETWEEN INNOVATORS AND THE RESEARCH DEPARTMENT IN AN INSTITUTION. IN THE SECOND PHASE, SUPERINTENDENTS OF 207 INSTITUTIONS RESPONDED TO A MAIL QUESTIONNARE SURVEY. OF THIS NUMBER, 162 SUPPLIED THE NAMES OF 663 INNOVATIONS, 577 INNOVATORS, 97 LIBRARIANS, AND 88 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS. THESE PERSONS WERE SURVEYED BY MAILED QUESTIONNARE (NOT INCLUDED). THE RESULTS OF THIS SURVEY PROVIDED INFORMATION ON INFORMATION-SEEKING BEHAVIOR AND PREFERENCES OF INNOVATORS, AS WELL AS CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR A SINGLE INNOVATION AND WITH PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR TWO OR MORE INNOVATIONS. FINDINGS CONFIRMED THAT INNOVATORS GET THEIR IDEAS FROM THE WORK OR EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS. WHILE PERSONAL CONTACT IS THE USUAL IDEA SOURCE, 45 PERCENT USED PUBLISHED MATERIAL AT A LATER STAGE. INNOVATORS' SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING THE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION EMPHASIZE SIMPLIFIED INFORMATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS. INCREASING INFORMAL PERSONAL INTERACTION AMONG PROFESSIONALS IS RECOMMENDED. A CASE STUDY OF AN INNOVATION PROCESS WHERE INFORMATION WAS EFFECTIVELY UTILIZED IS INCLUDED. (DEP)