NC Health Info http://www.nchealthinfo.orgis a collection of online North Carolina-based health services Web sites that link seamlessly with health information on MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine's Web site. NC Health Info is the result of a pilot study to define the components involved in creating such a system and serves as a model to be used by other states wishing to connect their own collections of health services information with MedlinePlus. This is the first part of a two-part series that describes the NC Health Info Project. Part one provides a general consumer health information service context as well as the concept and general approach that led to the development and implementation of the NC Health Info Project. Full detail on project development and implementation is found in part two, written by Brian Hilligoss and Christie Silbajoris.¹