What if users could borrow a title like they order a meal?
With Rapido library resource sharing, your library applies the online shopping model to interlibrary loans, allowing patrons to place requests from within the discovery interface.
Researchers and students expect a clear path from discovery to access. When that path is fragmented, engagement drops and collections become harder to find. This may help explain the decline in resource sharing requests at many academic libraries. Demand has not disappeared. Instead, when workflows feel complex or unclear, users are more likely to abandon a request. The need remains, even if it is less visible.
With Rapido library resource sharing, patrons are able to discover and access any title on one interface, regardless of where it comes from.
“With Rapido, requests are embedded directly into Primo creating a much more seamless experience for our patrons,
while increased automation allows staff to focus more on complex requests and higher-level problem solving instead of repetitive transactional work.”
Loftan Hooker, Head of Access Services, Virginia Commonwealth University
Adapting the library’s resource sharing services to today’s expectations
It is about aligning the experience with how users expect to interact with digital systems. Search, discovery and access need to feel like parts of the same process. When resource sharing is embedded into discovery, it no longer feels like a separate service. It becomes a natural extension of access, reducing friction and increasing engagement while aligning with familiar user expectations.
“There’s transparency through the whole request process. The patron can see exactly what’s going on. So we’ve had less phone calls, less emails asking ‘what’s the status of my request?’”
Kristine Shrauger, Head of Document Delivery and Resource Sharing, University of Central Florida