How ARIS sends you documentation

1.      What is the difference between 'documents', 'books' and 'folders'?

ARIS classifies its documentation into three types. There are differences in the way each type is sent.

• Documents - A document is either an article or a report. Its length can vary from 2 to 80 pages. ARIS sends the full document.
   
• Books - They can not be sent. However, the bibliographical references should enable you to obtain them. In some cases, ARIS can send you selected excerpts that correspond to your particular interests.
   
• Folders - A folder contains a number of short items such as newspaper or magazine clippings, press releases, emails and very short articles about a particular country or a country-topic. ARIS selects and sends items from the folder that correspond to your particular interests.

2.      Are there limits to the amount of documentation that can be requested from ARIS?

ARIS does impose some limits on the amount of documentation you can request. If you feel you need more than what is normally provided, explain your needs to the ARIS Documentation Centre and its staff will do their best to help you. Requests that exceed the limits are not rejected, but when they arrive, ARIS may have to leave out some of the items requested.

Experience also shows that sometimes a requestor's electronic mailbox or email provider cannot accept voluminous attachments and the mail will bounce back to ARIS. This seems to happen most frequently with Hotmail and similar accounts. ARIS cannot solve this problem but will inform you if an email is returned for these reasons.

3.      How is the documentation sent?

ARIS's preferred means of dispatch is by email attachment. Many of the items in the Documentation Centre have been scanned and stored electronically as Word documents and these items will be be sent as email attachments, unless you specifically request otherwise. Other items may be sent as paper or they may also be freshly scanned and sent by email.

Paper copies are sent through the Swiss post office and should take, from the date of dispatch, an average of 2 - 4 days for Europe, 3 - 7 days for other countries.

If you have a strong preference for either email or paper copies, mention this in the comments section of the request and ARIS will do its best to respond accordingly.

4.      Can ARIS send things by fax?

ARIS can fax items to addresses in Europe, but because of cost, only to a maximum of 20 pages.

5.      What if I there is no email address?

If you don't have an email address, then enter 'None' in the email address field on the 'Contact Info' form. We will then send the materials to you by post..

However, if you have an email address, but wish to receive paper copies, please enter your email address and state your preference for paper in the comments field. The email address could still be useful if ARIS needed to contact you about your request.