| Abstract: | SUMMARY The Gauteng and Environs Library Consortium (GAELIC) in South Africa is one of the nation's first attempts to pool resources in a multi-million volume regional virtual library. Through the linking of member libraries by networks and the utilisation of innovative technology, the vision is to provide access to information within the context of a 48-hour delivery system for books and to improve this delivery time for copied materials by utilising an electronic delivery system. Ariel, the electronic document delivery system of the Research Libraries Group in the United States, has been selected by the consortium as the standard for timely transfer of electronic information. A literature study of this system, which included a study of a test conducted by one of the GAELIC libraries and an assessment of the need for this delivery mode, indicated that Ariel could support resource sharing in the consortium. |
