Using international standards to expedite document delivery - The Ariel experience

The Research Libraries Group (RLG) had a challenge to expedite document delivery among its widely dispersed membership. Methods for expedited delivery current in the late 1980s were less than adequate. Faring of article copies was common, but the cost of the telecommunications was very expensive, the quality of the image at the receiving end was very poor, and the original faring paper was expensive and of poor quality. RLG was challenged to find a solution that improved the image quality while reducing the costs. Ariel was the result. Ariel uses many internet standards to give almost instantaneous delivery of images almost as sharp as the originals. Ariel has grown in popularity as it has helped to consolidate library interlending operations, and relieve the burdens of delivery. Many consortia in the US and around the world have found that using the Ariel software has strengthened their resource sharing with expedited delivery of non-returnables.