| Introduction
TULIP is a cooperative research project testing system for networked delivery and use of journals, performed by Elsevier and nine Universities in the USA. The participants set three objectives at the outset:
Technical
To determine the technical feasibility of networked distribution to and across institutions with varying levels of sophistication in their technical infrastructure. "Networked distribution" means sending the information both across the national Internet and over campus networks to the desktops of students and faculty. Elsevier will deliver the journal information to participating universities in standard formats. The universities will incorporate the information in local prototype or operational systems. A wide variety of delivery alternatives, search and retrieval systems and print-on-demand options will be compared.
Organizational and economic
To understand, through the implementation of prototypes, alternative costing, pricing, subscription and market models that may be "viable" in electronic distribution scenarios; comparing such models with existing print-then- distribute models; and understanding the role of campus organizational units under such scenarios. The overall goal is to reduce the unit cost of information delivery and retrieval. "Viable" means economically and functionally acceptable to all parties.
User behaviour
To study reader usage patterns under different distribution (technical, organizational and economic) situations. Improvement in the functionality of the information, whether as to article structure or retrieval tools, will also be considered. Certain data will be collected uniformly at all sites for analysis in the aggregate and for comparison among different systems.
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