*https://projectreshare.org/2021/08/13/news-release-reshare-returnables-launched-by-palci/
<https://projectreshare.org/2021/08/13/news-release-reshare-returnables-launched-by-palci/>*

News Release — ReShare Returnables Launched by PALCI

August 13, 2021

On August 12, 2021, the ReShare Returnables software went into full
production, actively supporting the resource sharing needs of the PALCI
<http://www.palci.org/> consortium, more than 50 diverse academic libraries
located in PA, NY, NJ, and WV. This inaugural launch of ReShare Returnables
marks almost exactly three years since a group of visionary open source
software developers and consortial leaders met at Swarthmore College near
Philadelphia, PA to chart the path of this innovative and inspirational
project.

“We are thrilled to be the first library consortium to launch what is now
the world’s first community-owned open source consortial borrowing system.
ReShare will transform our ability to share our libraries’ collections and
innovate in ways that will serve our patrons for years to come,” says PALCI
Executive Director Jill Morris.

Morris has been a strong advocate for and leader of Project ReShare since
its inception, having served as the inaugural chair of the Project ReShare
Steering Committee.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see the hard work of so many people over the
past three years coming to fruition. It’s been a great honor to participate
in this project with so many of my colleagues, and I’m proud of what it
represents, especially as it offers a sustainable model for successful open
source software collaborations across sectors and organizations.”

ReShare Returnables is the first production software to come out of the
open source, collaborative community. The Returnables software represents
the first step in ReShare’s goal of creating a consortial resource sharing
system that will enable sharing of the collective collection in all
formats, regardless of integrated library system, and empowering
library-driven and user centered workflows.

In an average year, PALCI libraries borrow and lend more than 150,000
physical items from their collections to each other through PALCI’s
well-regarded EZBorrow consortial borrowing program. EZBorrow, powered by
the ReShare software, allows patrons to send borrowing requests to lending
libraries automatically without involving library staff, saving staff time
and giving patrons efficient, world-class access to more than 10 million
unique items across the consortium’s shared collections.

ReShare Returnables supports interlibrary loan of physical materials
between members of a consortium. The software, built using the open source
FOLIO platform, uses an app-based approach to resource sharing workflows.
The apps include a member directory, queues to manage requesting and
supplying workflows, and a bulk update tool. A shared inventory app allows
ReShare libraries to pool their bibliographic metadata for discovery and
fulfillment purposes.

“ReShare is the result of a deep, open collaboration between a group of
libraries, consortia, and companies, based on the notion that
infrastructure should be owned by communities, not by individual
organizations,” said Lynn Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of Index Data
<https://www.indexdata.com/>, the first certified service provider for
Project ReShare. “This project has inspired and motivated us at Index Data
in ways we could not have imagined, and it’s been a privilege to be part of
it. We’ve developed a complete set of services that enable consortia and
other resource sharing groups to offer Reshare to their membership in a
reliable, cost-effective way. Today we celebrate the PALCI launch and the
hard work of our team and partners on this momentous occasion!”

ConnectNY <https://connectny.org/>,  a consortium of independent academic
institutions in New York State, will launch ReShare Returnables later this
month.

More information about the Returnables product and a video demonstration
can be found at https://projectreshare.org/products/product-demo.

Background

The ReShare Community is a group of libraries, consortia, information
organizations and developers, with both commercial and non-commercial
interests, who came together in 2018 to create Project ReShare – a new and
open approach to library resource sharing. The ReShare Community has a bold
vision for building a user-centered, app-based, community-owned resource
sharing platform for libraries to set a new standard for how we connect
library patrons to the resources and information they require.

For more information, contact [log in to unmask]

To receive email updates from Project ReShare, please sign up for the
Project ReShare news list at https://projectreshare.org/contact.

# # #

Media Contact

Lisa Croucher
Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN): trln.org, Executive Director
Project ReShare: projectreshare.org, Communication Team, Chair
[log in to unmask]