Occupational and environmental medical literature that confronts a physician is difficult to grasp. The development of the microcomputer makes it easier for the occupational medicine physician to perform computer literature searches. Occupational medical residents and physicians both familiar and unfamiliar with computers submitted identical searches to identify strengths and weaknesses of combinations of computer databases and assisting software. The combination of DIALOG databases and In-Search software were judged to be the most useful for the occupational medicine physician.