May 17, 2023
Ex Libris, part of Clarivate, is excited to celebrate that the resource sharing solution Rapido has welcomed 100 member institutions, after only a year on the market. Libraries worldwide use Rapido to help students more easily access other libraries’ collections.
In the past, students have struggled to use online library borrowing services due to broken user experiences. As Steven Bell noted in his article on student experience,
“Even the most basic of library operations, when broken or confusing, detract from a student’s overall college experience. The academic library student experience should blend seamlessly into students’ workflow and daily routines, avoiding barriers that needlessly waste their time or leave them puzzling over the completion of research tasks.” [1]
But this is changing. Academic institutions are shifting their focus from “user services” to “user experiences” to meet the evolving user expectations. Since the launch of Rapido in March 2022, 100 live members now offer intuitive borrowing experiences to over half a million students across the globe.
Powered by the RapidILL, interlibrary loan software borrowing-and-lending automation technology, Rapido focuses on simplifying the borrowing process on the user side. Students can explore the shared collections in only a few clicks, without ever leaving the library’s interface:
“Rapido allows us to build on our existing interlending practices and facilitate access to content currently not held by the library. I do believe that its automated workflows and system integration will help further support the Higher Education community and its ILL practices.”
Dr Rachel Schulkins, Library Content Services Lead at University of Liverpool.
Students also want to make informed decisions when borrowing a title. Rapido makes this easy by showing them if a book is available and when it will arrive: “The discovery and attainment of resources have become easier and more transparent,” says Matt Cox from Derby University. No more forms to fill out, no more missed deadlines.
In its first year, Rapido has achieved the following milestones:
- Reduced the average time to receive a digital title to 10 hours
- Fulfilled digital requests 92% of the time
- Achieved up to a 300% increase in borrowing service adoption without increasing staff workload
- Streamlined the process, requiring only around 7 clicks from the point of discovery to the point of request
Asaf Kline, Vice President of Product Management for Ex Libris, emphasizes, “the ability for users to go to one place and understand what a library has in its collections, or easily request a copy if the library doesn’t own that resource, is critical.” Through innovative solutions like Rapido, libraries can continue to simplify their user experience and provide students with timely access to the resources they need. Both Ex Libris, integrated library system and member libraries are now looking forward to onboarding other universities to the Community.
A modern library experience
Rapido is an integrated borrowing solution designed for modern library experiences.
- For users, Rapido acts as an extension of the library’s collection to provide a simplified digital borrowing experience. Instead of looking for an item on the web, searching it on the library’s app, filling in a request form, and waiting for an update, students navigate the borrowing journey in a few clicks without ever leaving the library’s interface. Rapido’s transparent delivery dates let users know whether items will arrive in time for their paper or exam.
- For libraries, Rapido extends the collection without extending the budget, with automated access to the titles of the resource-sharing Community. In addition, its automation of the borrowing and lending processes allows staff to manage a higher volume of requests with less effort.
Rapido helps students discover external collections in just a few clicks. Learn more online.
[1] Higher Education Promotes the Student Experience: From the Bell Tower, Steven Bell,
https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/higher-education-promotes-student-experience-bell-tower, Library Journal
