Benefits of the US Hybrid Pod

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A Hybrid Pod is a connection between groups of libraries using either Alma Peer-to-Peer Resource Sharing (Alma RS) or Rapido for the purposes of Resource Sharing. The connection uses the infrastructure of both systems to ensure the requests are processed using standard workflows regardless of the system used, so Alma RS libraries will process requests using Alma RS workflows and Rapido libraries will process requests using Rapido workflows. 

There is no change in service for patrons at an Alma RS or Rapido library. When patrons place a Resource Sharing request they don't need to decide to place a Hybrid Pod request separate from their traditional Alma RS or Rapido requests, they place a request as they normally would in the system used at their library. The requests will also appear on the patrons library account as normal, use the same communication methods as before, and are checked out the same way at the circulation desk. 

There are many benefits to joining a Hybrid Pod for both Alma RS and Rapido libraries. These benefits include:

• Increased access to library materials for patrons:
  • Libraries joining the pod are agreeing to loan materials from their main circulating collections. The more collections in the pod, the more materials are available.
  • Adding partnerships with libraries specializing in different areas of study will also help diversify the materials available to patrons. Example: A library for a university with a strong architecture program will have a very different collection from a library with a strong pre-med program.
• All requests use existing workflows, so no need to retrain staff or reteach students.
• All requests are fully integrated into Alma so patrons can track their requests in their library account without logging into a separate program.
• Both Alma and Rapido have unmediated Borrowing, so requests placed in either system are automatically sent to partners who own the book without waiting for staff to manually process the request. This decreases the amount of time it takes for materials to get to the patron requesting them.
• Decrease the need for third party Resource Sharing programs to meet the research needs of students, faculty, and staff. 

Alma Specific Benefits

If your library uses Alma for managing your library collection and checking out materials to your patrons then you have access to Alma RS without any additional costs. If you are already using Alma RS to connect to consortia partner libraries on your Network Zone (NZ) then Hybrid Pods will let you connect with partners outside your NZ for the first time. 

Not all libraries on Alma use an NZ, for these libraries this is a great opportunity to connect with other libraries through Alma RS for the first time. The size of the US Hybrid pod started as around the size of a medium consortium, and the community is growing daily. 

Rapido Specific Benefits

Rapido libraries already connect to libraries outside their NZ through Rapido pods. The main benefit for Rapido libraries is the addition of partners not available through other US based pods. Alma libraries cannot be found in the US Pod, US West Pod, or US East Pod, but they are available through the US Hybrid Pod. This additional partnerships will expand the network, increasing fill rates and decreasing the need for third party last resort partners. 

All pod partners can contribute their holdings records to the Global Title Index (GTI) for easy requesting for Rapido libraries. This means there are no configurations needed for Rapido libraries to easily search Alma RS collections. 

While Hybrid Pods are very beneficial for both Alma RS and Rapido libraries, there are some areas that could be improved for a better experience. 

Alma Specific Drawbacks

While we are calling this connection the US Hybrid Pod, it is configured as a Resource Sharing Rota at the Alma RS libraries. Because Rotas are configured and managed locally, Alma libraries will need to download partner records and add them to their locally configured Rota as additional partners join the pod. This does mean there is a configuration and maintenance aspect to joining the pod. To mitigate this, new partners are added to the pod once a month so these configurations can be handled in batches instead of throughout the month. 

 While requests placed through Alma RS will go to partners throughout the Hybrid Pod, finding records for materials not available in your Institution Zone (IZ) or Network Zone (NZ) is difficult. Rapido libraries find materials not held locally through the GTI, which is a feature exclusive to Rapido. Thankfully, there are several ways patrons can still request materials from outside your IZ or NZ:

• Any requests for items with local records that are currently checked out will go to partners on the pod.
• Requests placed through the Blank Resource Sharing form will go to all pod partners if the item is not available locally.
• Several library consortia's have volunteered to share holdings records through a Deep Link to let Alma libraries increase the available records to request. Alma libraries can only receive records from one other NZ, so they may want to add records from the closest willing consortia possible. 

Rapido Specific Drawbacks

Since the pod acts like any Rapido pod there are not clear drawbacks for Rapido libraries. 

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Q. Can we continue to use additional services and partnerships?

A. Yes, you can use all other connections and services you already have. If you have a Resource Sharing connection to other partners in Alma or Rapido (CSU+, BorrowDirect, PASCAL Delivers, etc.) you can configure your system to use these local priority services before the US Hybrid Pod. 

Q. Is there load balancing?

A. The type of balancing depends on if you are using Alma RS or Rapido. 

Alma RS libraries use the Rota system and are dependent on the individual configurations of that library. The Rota can be split into multiple Rotas and ordered based on geography or priority to ease or increase the number of requests going to a particular library. 

Rapido Pods typically balance requests across the pod. This means if several libraries all have the same book, and a patron at another library requests it, the system will send the request to the library that has had the least amount of requests that day. For example: Libraries A, B, and C all own the same edition of Romeo and Juliet. Library A has received 3 Lending requests today, Library B has received 5, and Library C has gotten 2 requests. The request will go to Library C in an attempt to balance the amount of requests across the pod.