Ariadne: the next generation of electronic document delivery systems

Electronic document delivery is a concept which promises to solve end‐user problems in retrieving the primary information referenced to in bibliographical databases. This article describes an approach to electronic document delivery which gradually evolved at Tilburg University over the past two years, leading to the development of a system called Ariadne. First of all, a pragmatic description of electronic document delivery is developed as a basis for a generation model of electronic document delivery systems. This model is illustrated with short references to existing systems and leads to the identification of global requirements for an Ariadne‐like system. Special attention will be paid to existing and developing standards in this field, notably the work of the Group on Electronic Document Interchange (GEDI). The remainder of the article addresses the general model of Ariadne, currently under development at Tilburg University. The article concludes with some strategic issues for libraries and publishers in this field, and a short look into the future.