After a six month review and selection process, Rapido Consortial Borrowing (CB) has been chosen as the official interlibrary loan (ILL) solution for North and South Dakota. The selection committee was comprised of a broad base of voices representing academic, public, and school libraries in North and South Dakota. The program is jointly sponsored by the State Libraries of North Dakota and South Dakota and will be supported and administered by the Online Dakota Information Network (ODIN), a part of North Dakota University System Core Technology Services (NDUS CTS).
Some Highlights of Rapido
Here are a few of the features we are most excited about that will come with Rapido CB:
The "Pod" approach. Unlike traditional systems that rely largely on staff searching libraries and hunting for an item that fills the request based on a series of rotas, Rapido is built using the "Pod" approach. Libraries join multiple "pods" with pre-negotiated terms (loan periods, delivery times, currier affiliation, costs, etc.), avoiding the need to view each lending libraries' policies prior to requesting or surprises for you or your patrons after-the-fact.
The RapidILL Network. Through the integration with RapidILL, faculty and students gain access to a global network that fulfills digital article and chapter requests with an average turnaround time of less than 12 hours.
Enhanced Experience for Patrons. With a focus on the item and lending terms instead of who owns it, patrons are presented a clear "Offer" based on the pod terms right in their search results with a delivery time estimate; similar to an online shopping experience with different shipping options.
External request options. Additional partner libraries and networks can be configured beyond the Dakota libraries, all without having to manually reenter the request in another system or search multiple places.
Unmediated Fulfillment. The system automatically finds the best lender based on availability and proximity, allowing the request to go through the network without staff needing to touch it, if desired. For article and chapter requests, requests could be delivered directly to the patron without any action from the patron's library saving time.
Next Generation ILS Integration. For libraries on Alma or Polaris with Vega, instead of patrons going to a separate website or "ILL Portal," Rapido integrates directly into the search they are already using.
More will be shared in the come weeks as Implementation plans become finalized. Stay tuned for further details and training sessions as we move along in this new era of collaborative resource sharing!
