As computer-assisted programs in newsrooms mature, there's an inevitable problem: How to distribute the wealth of computer resources to the masses of reporters who have little or no high-tech training.

At The Hartford Courant, where I began work earlier this year, we were bursting with information, but could not always easily pass it on to those who needed it.

As one of the first papers to aggressively use computers in news gathering, the Courant had filled several large hard drives and nine-track tape racks with data of all descriptions.

Literally hundreds of databases had been stored away as a resource during Brant Houston's tenure at the paper (which ended January 1994 when he became managing director at NICAR).

The data files were available for inspection on the old computer-assisted war horse, XDB, an SQL database program. But those files were inaccessible to many reporters and editors without a computer-trained guide. Though more than 30 reporters and editors had received training, the training did not stick unless they continued to work on computer-assisted stories.

The solution we chose was to create a customized application program in FoxPro for Windows that took advantage of the searching power of SQL, but allowed any reporter who could use a mouse and a pull-down menu the opportunity to search through dozens of files.

Our customized application program in FoxPro for Windows grants access to selected criminal records, professional listings of lawyers and accountants, a simple state payroll, an ever-growing list of contributors to several gubernatorial candidates, some basic census information, a listing of all persons registered to own handguns in the state and a Hartford voters' list - among other files.

Without going into details of FoxPro programming language, a user enters the system by clicking on a special icon in the Windows Program Manager.

Once it starts, the program allows users to choose a database from a Windows-style, pull-down menu. After the database is selected, a simple search screen appears prompting a reporter to type in a name or some other search criteria. Clicking the mouse on a box starts the search. All the SQL language is embedded in the program and activated without any work by the searcher.

The menus also give access to a simple help file designed to guide a reporter through a search and include text files describing each of the databases.

The system is by no means perfect. Any real programmer who examined my crude code would probably drop dead of fright. Though most people who use it seem to navigate the system without problems, it could be further simplified.

We are also working to expand the types of data on the system with an eye toward adding to its functionality.

Our next hurdle is to figure out a way to give reporters located in our extensive bureau system access to such a program without lugging hundreds of floppies out to each bureau (not to mention the cost of buying all those copies of FoxPro).

But what we found was that almost anyone with a spare computer and a little knowledge of FoxPro programming language (or a willingness to beg and cajole the wonderful technical support staff at Microsoft) can put together a similar system.