Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) Selects Auto-Graphics SHAREit® for Resource Sharing

ONTARIO, Calif., April 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Auto-Graphics, Inc., provider of the first Web-based library resource management solution to library consortia and innovative developer of many resource sharing industry "firsts", announces that its cloud-based resource sharing solution, SHAREit, has been selected by Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS). RAILS serves approximately 1,300 academic, public, school, and special library members, which represent more than 4,200 library facilities in a 27,000 square mile area across northern and western Illinois. Implementation of its new resource sharing system, named Find More Illinois, began in February 2018 with a pilot project of 21 academic, public, and school libraries from three shared catalog consortia. Expansion to other Illinois libraries that wish to participate is expected to begin as soon as fall 2018.

Reasons that SHAREit was selected over other vendors include its capability to embrace the existing ILS ecosystem in a state or region, support for copy cataloging, and affordability. "We've taken a broad, multi-pronged approach to laying the foundation for our new resource sharing solution, due to the disparate ILS systems in place," states Deirdre Brennan, RAILS Executive Director. "We sought a resource sharing system that allows us to build on the existing library technology environment, enabling all libraries to participate so that we can foster and promote a robust, holistic vision of resource sharing in Illinois that will enable and encourage all libraries to share materials as freely and widely as possible."

The RAILS project seeks to expand resource sharing and facilitate interlibrary loan service in Illinois, with patrons drawing from the virtual online catalogs of participating libraries as well as a union database. This hybrid implementation of SHAREit, delivered as a pure Software as a Service (SaaS), will allow the RAILS project to expand affordably over time, so that patrons and staff who can't find materials in their local catalog can find materials in the Find More Illinois libraries. "We're looking forward to enjoying the benefits of the RAILS resource sharing overlay project. Enabling easy, efficient, seamless discovery and fulfillment for patrons is a primary goal," states Jane Plass, RAILS Associate Executive Director. "The libraries in our pilot project are looking forward to providing better interlibrary loan service while improving efficiency."

As the RAILS resource sharing vendor of choice, Auto-Graphics is proud of the company's decades-long history of interlibrary loan (ILL), providing resource sharing support to multitype library environments, including non-automated libraries. With the ability to tie the smallest to largest libraries over geographically diverse areas, providing the "have and have nots" equal access to resources and leveling the playing field for library patrons who can now make their own ILL requests, it is no wonder Auto-Graphics has the largest pool of statewide and/or regional resource sharing ILL systems in North America.

"Through 30 years of continuous investment in resource sharing products and our work with over 20 states and provinces, we are confident that RAILS and its diverse membership will see the value in selecting SHAREit, and we are very pleased to add RAILS to our growing list of North American SHAREit users," states Albert Flores, Vice-President of Sales at Auto-Graphics. "RAILS provides Auto-Graphics with a diverse ecosystem in terms of types of libraries, standalone, branch and consortia, all of which will leverage the unique design of SHAREit. At the heart of SHAREit is the capability to work with existing systems and depending on availability of standards or not, the system provides a level playing field for any participating library."

"Auto-Graphics has observed that generally there is a 50% increase in interlibrary loan activity within two years of SHAREit being put into place, based on a patron-centric SHAREit implementation model with SIP2 and/or NCIP," states Paul R. Cope, Auto-Graphics' President. "Our recent SHAREit implementation in the state of Pennsylvania proves that observation to be true, with a reported $1.8M savings in purchase costs in 2017. Any state or consortia using SHAREit for resource sharing will see their acquisitions costs go down."

Auto-Graphics has decades of providing services to libraries and has maintained a presence in the ILL resource sharing market for over 30 years, having supported systems with over 6,000 ILL members. Over 20 states and provinces have used Auto-Graphics' statewide services for resource sharing needs, making Auto-Graphics uniquely qualified to support RAILS from the pilot through expansion to other Illinois libraries. With a proven ability to have statewide systems operational in less than 90 days due to Auto-Graphics' technology, staff and experience in this unique area of the library automation field, a smooth rollout is expected during implementation.

About Auto-Graphics, Inc.
Auto-Graphics is the only publicly-traded library software vendor to provide software solutions along with full financial transparency. The company's nearly seven (7) decades of providing solutions to the markets it serves reflects how well Auto-Graphics has listened to their customer base and stayed abreast of new technologies, continuously reinventing their products and services to help libraries of all sizes become more efficient and patron-centric. The Auto-Graphics browser-based AGent Software Platform for patrons and staff – currently used by more than 11,000 libraries in North America – is comprised of SHAREit®, a Web-based resource sharing solution providing patron-initiated sharing, circulation-based interlibrary loan (ILL); VERSO®, an integrated public library system (ILS); RESEARCHit®, a federated search and discovery module; and MONTAGEdc®, a digital collection solution. All products are fully Web and cloud-based, and are available via a Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription. For more information, please visit www.auto-graphics.com. Auto-Graphics is a public company that trades under the stock symbol AIFS.

© Auto-Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved. VERSO®, SHAREit®, RESEARCHit™, & MONTAGEdc®
are trademarks of Auto-Graphics, Inc. and part of their AGent® Library Platform.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Auto-Graphics, Inc.