Do not forget to mention that many serial EEPROM parts use a 2 wire serial interface called I2C. It is also not difficult to find sample code for both the I2C method and for the 3-4 wire type (commonly known as SPI). You just need to do some searches via Google. Look also at links on this site and the application notes / sample code that is at the Atmel or Philips sites.
Michael Karas