ARIEL document delivery: a cost‐effective alternative to fax

Describes ARIEL, a high‐speed, high‐quality, cost‐effective document delivery system that runs on the Internet. Journal articles can be sent from one place to another by scanning the article directly from the journal. Text and graphics are digested into the computer, transmitted over the Internet, and printed on a laser printer at the receiving end. Developed in 1990 by the Research Libraries Group of the Research Libraries Information Network, ARIEL is becoming the document delivery system of choice for a rapidly growing number of users in the USA and abroad. The key advantages which ARIEL has over the fax are: no long‐distance phone charges; high image resolution; original source can be scanned; can send and receive documents at the same time; does not require dedicated equipment; and documents can be stored and forwarded at a later time. ARIEL Version 2.0, released in February 1997, incorporates Multi‐purpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) technology which enables documents to be transmitted to the computer screen via e‐mail from one individual to another. Describes the hardware and software requirements, the cost of getting started, and one library’s experience, as part of a pilot project, with the ARIEL document delivery system.