“Breaking Up is Hard to Do…But Easier with Rapido”: Blough-Weis Library’s Presentation at the Librarian ENUG Conference

The ExLibris Northeast User Group conference took place on October 16th – October 17th at Brandeis University in Boston, Massachusetts. This conference, affectionately known as ENUG, brings Northeastern libraries that use the same management systems together to discuss new developments and customized practices. 

On October 16th, Nichole Allen and Brianne Dort represented the Blough-Weis Library at this conference. When they returned to campus, I had the opportunity to ask them about their experience. They shared with me more about the conference, their favorite presentations and speakers, and went in depth about their own talk that they presented. 

Allen & Dort’s Presentation: Breaking Up is Hard to Do…But Easier with Rapido 

In 2021, the Blough-Weis Library changed its interlibrary loan system from ILLiad by OCLC to Rapido. Interlibrary loans allow students to borrow books from another library if Susquehanna does not carry them. With ILLiad, Allen and Dort explained that many students did not take advantage of interlibrary loans because the system was more complicated to use. Now, students are able to easily borrow any book using Rapido. 

To help communicate the efficiency of Rapido, Allen and Dort gave their presentation titled “Breaking Up is Hard to Do…But Easier with Rapido.” At 10:30 A.M. Allen and Dort presented how Rapido has made the interlibrary loan system more accessible in the Blough-Weis Library.  

“The one really nice thing about Rapido,” Allen explained, “is that it works with the books we have now and is able to see really easily what other books libraries have that are able to loan to us. So, it makes the whole system a lot easier for students and us to get the books.” 

“It doesn’t require as many steps from you,” Allen continued. “All of the borrowing is now built into our library catalog. When you’re looking for a book and it comes up and we don’t have it, but the options down there say “Deliver,” you can get this in five days and you can keep it for 16 weeks. That is a one click thing. In the old system, you’d have to search for the item and then open up a new browser and go into a different system and send requests. So now it’s all within one.” 

I know as a student, this one-click system makes it really easy to borrow whichever book I need. I did not attend Susquehanna when the old system was in place, but it is clear Rapido has made the interlibrary loan system a more streamlined process for students and faculty. Despite it’s efficiency, Allen told me that many libraries still use the ILLiad system. When I asked why, she told me that librarians were creatures of habit, and once they chose a system, they tend to stick with it. 

“A big part of the presentation was about being disruptors,” Dort explained. “Librarians don’t like to change, and we like to do things the way we’ve always done it. A lot of this conference was talking about how can we change stuff and make it better. And stand up for ourselves and our patrons.” 

“Our presentation was informational,” Allen added, “to tell them that yes, we made this really big change. Yes, it worked out. And yes, if you really want to make this change, you can do it, too.” 

Catalog Clean Up 

After they explained their presentation, I asked the librarians about other interesting presentations they had gotten the opportunity to watch.  

“A lot of it was making sure that our catalog is cleaned up,” Dort said, “so that users are able to find things easier and are sure what we’ve got.”  

Dort is our systems librarian, and so our catalog is one of her specialties. She explained that a library’s catalog was like your computer. Often times you have random files saved to your computer, or old files that are not needed anymore. The same thing happens in a library catalog. Data gets saved but never gets removed, making the catalog build up with irrelevant information. 

“A lot of what they talked about was ways you can remove book records and patron records,” Dort told me, recalling the presentation. “They told us how to do it in a way that will help clean your system up, so it runs better and makes things easier to find for students, for faculty, and for our patrons.” 

“We did a whole library system transfer six years ago,” Allen added, “and so technically we probably should have done the cleanup back then, so a lot of this data outdates our current system and is just carryovers from the old systems that no one went through.” 

Now, Dort is doing the systems fall-cleaning as she combs through old and outdated material. It is a large, but important job, and Dort said she is ready for the challenge! 

AI in Library Science 

AI is one of the most debated topics today. The question of whether it is here to help or harm society is ever the more prevalent as it becomes a bigger and bigger part of our lives. AI is now finding itself in most professions in one way or another, and library services are no different. 

Allen and Dort told me that the conference was also very AI focused. There were different discussions and talks about whether libraries should use it, and if so, how. But one of the most interesting points among these talks was that one library actually created their own AI platform to help their students find books and research materials. 

“Instead of when you’re doing a search and you have to type in the Boolean phrasing or get specific keywords,” Allen said, “they created their own AI in their search where you can write natural language. You can ask it a question, and it will create the Boolean phrasing for you.” 

This system is only about three weeks old but is already showing how useful it can be. Allen took a particular interest in this talk because it shows that librarians create ways to make AI work for them, instead of working for AI. “I liked it because it didn’t hide the student from the process. It actually populated the search bar with the Boolean phrasing, so it was also a learning moment.” She continued by saying that she hopes to see more AI built as teaching moments to help students rather than to just do things for them. 

I asked the librarians if they thought AI would soon find a place in the Blough-Weis library, and they both told me it was inventible. Dort told me that some of the databases were use already have AI built into it, and that it is likely going to increase. 

“We’re hoping that we can find a way to incorporate it over time in a way that helps students learn and doesn’t take way from our own jobs,” Dort said with a laugh. “So, it will eventually be in there, but it’s just a slow process of making sure we bring it in ethically and deciding how we want to use it.” 

Librarians are Rebels 

As I concluded my interview, I asked Dort and Allen what their overall favorite moment was from the conference. After some thought, Allen told me that the best part of any conference is being surrounded by other librarians. 

“Every time we get together with a group of librarians at any conference, I’m always reminded that they’re all kind of rebels,” Allen said. “It’s always really fun to be around people who are fighting the power. Don’t let the corporations tell you what to do. We should be directing the path of where we want to go.” 

Dort agreed, and the librarians left us with one final reminder: “Librarians are always rebels, even with our cardigans.” 

I hope that you enjoyed learning about the ENUG conference as much as I did! Whether you are a student, faculty member, or a librarian yourself, I hope you learned about our Rapido system, and found our discussion about AI in library systems interesting. And next time you are using our browsing our catalog, make sure to take advantage of our interlibrary loan system! 

Madeline Davis (’28) is a sophomore at Susquehanna University.  She is a Marketing and Advertising & Public Relations dual major. In addition to her marketing work at the Blough-Weis Library,  Madeline serves as the Public Relations manager for Susquehanna’s Best Buddies chapter and as an editor for Ginkgo Magazine. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, writing, and antiquing with friends.