Library Resource Sharing

Library resource sharing, also known as interlibrary loan (ILL), is a cooperative system where libraries collaborate to provide patrons access to materials not available locally. Through this service, patrons can place requests for books, articles, and other resources not in their library’s collection. Library staff search for these items in participating libraries, borrow them on behalf of patrons, and facilitate delivery of the physical materials. This process broadens access to resources, promoting collaboration among libraries and enhancing the range of materials accessible to patrons beyond their local library’s holdings.

Resource sharing in libraries significantly expands access to materials, promotes cost efficiency, broadens collections and access to knowledge, supports research, and enhances student satisfaction.

RapidILL is Rapido’s backbone for interlibrary loan workflows, fulfilling the requests for you and giving you access to the shared library collection. Rapido, built on top of RapidILL, simplifies the library borrowing and mediation process. Students don’t have to fill out a form anymore. They borrow titles they need using the  library resource sharing and discovery interface, with the click of a button.

Yes. We are working with development partners to make Rapido work with any integrated library system, from Sierra to FOLIO/EDS. Tell us which system your library uses, and we’ll work with you to find the best way to make Rapido fit in your library stack. Contact us now.

No. The Rapido library resource sharing system integrates with content suppliers such as Get It Now from CCC and Article Galaxy from Research Solutions. Moreover, it is open to any system supporting standards such as ISO and NCIP, offering access to materials. So in addition to sharing resources with the Rapido community, you can also allow transactions with your favorite partner libraries. And all your requests are still managed within Rapido so you do not need to duplicate information in another system. 

When joining the Rapido library resource sharing system, you connect your library to a community of hundreds of libraries sharing resources among themselves. Your closest partners will be the members of whichever pod(s) you choose to join. The Rapido technology accesses precise holdings records, tracks borrowing statistics, ensures time-zone awareness, and automatically balances the loads between library resource-sharing practices.

Yes. Rapido was designed as a two-way street – making it easy for you to handle both borrowing from partnered libraries and lending to other libraries from your collection. Managing lending requests through “Rapido sets” is extremely simple, with a centralized overview of current and past requests in one place. 

Rapido library resource sharing will soon integrate with any ILS (integrated library system). If Rapido does not yet support your ILS, let us know and we’ll tailor it to your needs to ensure a streamlined experience. 

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• Rapido will save you hours previously spent configuring your library workflows and mediating requests. The library resource-sharing software handles most patron requests automatically at both the borrowing and lending libraries. Advanced escalation rules set aside some requests for library staff to mediate, which they can quickly see and access through a fully customizable menu, the “Rapido sets”. 

Rapido library resource sharing system connects you with partners who provide resources for free or at a minimal fee, such as: CCC, with more than 19,000 journals titles accessible through the Get It Now Add-on; Research Solution, with the Article Galaxy Add-on giving access to over 40,000 journal titles; and Linda Hall Library, holding over 1 million special science, technology, and engineering resources. Just a few clicks and delivery of material is underway. 

With Rapido, patrons simply click on a button in their discovery interface to place an interlibrary loan request. Rapido offers them different borrowing options and complete visibility into the delivery process. You don’t have to spend weeks configuring your resource-sharing settings. Rapido automatically finds the best lenders to fulfill your requests. 

Rapido library resource sharing makes it much simpler for users to send resource sharing requests. They borrow directly from the discovery layer, with a few clicks only. That’s it, request sent. In addition, they can track their request status up until arrival. Of course, you keep all the magic of RapidILL: unmediated requests and access to the shared collection of the entire network.