THE COMPUTER WAS PART OF AN EDAX ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETER. AT TIME OF PURCHASE THE EDAX SYSTEM HAD A NOVA 210 COMPUTER, A DATA GENERAL 6030 FLOPPY DISKETTE SUBSYSTEM, AND A TELETYPEWRITER. BY REQUESTING ADDITIONAL MEMORY AND A FORTRAN COMPILER AT TIME OF PURCHASE, THE LABORATORY ACQUIRED A COMPUTER SYSTEM WHICH CAN OPERATE EITHER INDEPENDENTLY OR WITH THE X-RAY FLUORESCENCE UNIT. THE HIGHER EDUCATION INFORMATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEM IN USE AT CARROLL COLLEGE, WAUKESHA, WIS., PROVIDED A DATA-INDEPENDENT SEARCH SYSTEM WHICH COULD HANDLE BOTH LABORATORY ANALYSIS AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS. A CARROLL COLLEGE COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT MADE THE NECESSARY MODIFICATION IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS. THE OPERATION OF THIS SMALL LABORATORY COMPUTER SYSTEM IS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL. IT CONTAINS FILES FOR MASS SPECTRA DATA, BALLISTICS DATA, DRUG CHARACTERISTICS, AND NUMEROUS OTHER EVIDENCE IDENTIFICATION APPLICATIONS. IT ALSO HANDLES BOOKKEEPING, MONTHLY REPORTS, AND RECORDS OF INSTRUMENT MAINTENANCE. AT PRESENT ITS APPLICATIONS ARE BEING EXPANDED TO INCLUDE SOME BASIC RESEARCH. RESULTS FROM SELECTED TESTS ARE BEING COMPILED TO SEE IF ANY TRENDS CAN BE GLEANED FROM OBSERVATIONS MADE IN HUNDREDS OF CASES. SINCE THE SYSTEM USES STANDARD FORMATS AND CODING TECHNIQUES WHICH CAN BE GIVEN TO OTHER LABORATORIES IN THE STATE, RECIPROCAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE IS POSSIBLE. SAMPLES OF THE COMPUTER-GENERATED REPORTS AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (GLR)