Library Resource Sharing in Action: Insights From a Webinar
What I Heard From Florida Libraries at our Library Resource Sharing FLIN Webinar
Last week I hosted a webinar about FLIN SHAREit, the statewide library resource sharing network that connects libraries across Florida. I opened with the usual overview slides, and I’ll be honest with you: the slides were not the point. The point was the people we put on the panel, and how multiple libraries collaborate for better access to collections.
We invited library staff who use the system every single day, an academic library and a public library system. I gave them exactly one instruction: give it to us straight. CEOs are easy to ignore. People doing the actual work are not.
They delivered. Here’s what I took away.
First, the basics: what FLIN SHAREit is
If you’re new to this, FLIN SHAREit is Florida’s statewide resource sharing platform, funded by the Division of Library and Information Services. It’s been running since 2020. Public, academic, special, and K-12 school libraries in Florida are all eligible, and there’s no participation fee for FLIN member libraries. None.
The idea behind library resource sharing is not complicated. Instead of being limited to what’s on your own shelves, your library can reach into a statewide collection to fill a patron’s request. Every library that joins makes the network more valuable for everyone already in it. I call it the network effect. You could also just call it libraries doing what libraries have always done, helping each other deliver the library services their patrons ask for.
And it doesn’t stop at the state line. Through SHAREit’s Inter-System Sharing Initiative (ISSI), participating Florida libraries can request and lend with libraries in other states, right from inside SHAREit. No second system to learn, no separate workflow to manage. Participation is opt-in, so every library stays in control of its own lending policies. That last part matters, and it will stay that way.
How a library resource sharing system fits the day-to-day
Here’s the part of the webinar I actually cared about: how does this fit into a real workday?
The theme I heard over and over was that SHAREit slotted into existing workflows instead of replacing them. Both libraries on the panel still run SHAREit alongside another interlibrary loan system, and their staff described adding it as adjusting a routine, not reinventing one. Good. That’s the design. Resource sharing software should adapt to the library, not the other way around. When a vendor tells you to rebuild your whole process around their product, ask what else you are going to have to change downstream to accommodate the way that product works.
I also heard about the learning curve. Or more accurately, I heard SHAREit was easy to pick-up. One panelist told us about a brand-new coworker who worked through the training sessions and was running the system on her own shortly after. Another described easing in the careful way: send one request, see if it comes back, then ramp up. Different approaches, same result. SHAREit got learned, and then it got used.
The features that came up most often weren’t the flashy ones, and that’s telling. The automatically generated lender list. The request history that shows the full activity on an item. The “will supply in process” status that gives you a middle ground between yes and no. None of that wins design awards. All of it shaves steps off the distance between a patron’s request and a book in their hands. That’s the job.
And that’s where the panelists lit up: patron stories. One told us about a request that went unfilled again and again through another channel, then got filled within a day or two of being routed through SHAREit. Several talked about the plain satisfaction of telling a patron, “yes, we can get that for you,” and about items showing up in Florida from as far away as Texas and New England through SHAREit’s ISSI connectivity. If you’ve ever run interlibrary loan at a public library, or worked any service desk anywhere, you know that feeling. Patron satisfaction isn’t a metric on a dashboard. It’s the whole reason the desk exists.
My commitment on the product side
One comment stuck with me. A panelist mentioned that the system today doesn’t look like the system from six months ago, because updates keep arriving. Let me own that publicly, because talk is cheap and roadmaps are cheaper: continuous improvement is my sole focus for SHAREit. My standing directive to our team is that every update should reduce the number of clicks it takes to complete a task, with a target of cutting clicks in half wherever we touch a workflow. Modernizing the look, the feel, and the workflow is not a someday project at Soutron Global. It’s happening now, release by release, and Soutron clients see it.
For Florida libraries thinking it over
I want to be careful here, because this decision belongs entirely to each library, and I’d be suspicious of any vendor who pretended otherwise. So here are the facts, and just the facts:
There’s no cost for FLIN member libraries to participate, which can support cost savings and better use of limited budgets. The application is short, and profile configuration typically takes a day or two. A full training curriculum is available. Libraries choose their own connection type, either a live Z39.50 connection or a hybrid record upload option. And every library sets its own lending policies, deciding what it will and won’t share. Transparent cost-sharing models and cooperative purchasing agreements are common ways library collaborations distribute expenses fairly while supporting other services. You stay in control, start to finish.
In plain terms: a library can try it with minimal commitment, measure it against its own workflow, and make its own call. Some libraries run SHAREit alongside an existing interlibrary loan service. Others have consolidated to just using SHAREit. Either way, the choice stays where it belongs, with you.
One more thing: The word “workflow” was mentioned eighteen times during the webinar
The word “workflow” came up more than a dozen times during the panel discussion alone. That’s not a coincidence. One panelist put her finger on why: so much of running an interlibrary loan service is building your own process workflow. Every ILL desk evolves its own habits, shortcuts, and systems over the years, and no two look quite alike. Honestly, that’s one of my favorite things about this community.
The idea of a personal ILL workflow stuck a chord with us, so we built something for it: the Interlibrary Loan Workflow Personality Quiz. In seven quick questions, you’ll learn new observations about how your ILL desk actually operates. Plus, after completing the quiz, you get a capsule profile of the workflow personality your library has evolved into, a shortlist of SHAREit features worth prioritizing to improve your workflows, and a suggested next step or two. Strong workflows also depend on staff training, clear communication, and ongoing support during implementation. The quiz helps start that conversation.
The quiz takes a few minutes, there’s nothing to sign up for, and whether or not your library ever joins a resource sharing network, you might learn something about your own process. Consider it our thank-you to the ILL community for a genuinely good conversation.
Thank you
My sincere thanks to Kathy, Emily, Grace and Michael for joining the panel and telling it straight, and to everyone at the State Library of Florida’s Division of Library and Information Services, which administers the FLIN SHAREit program.
If your library would like to learn more about SHAREit and library resource sharing, visit soutron.com or reach out to our team. We’d be glad to talk it through. A real person will answer.
Brad Frasher,
CEO, Soutron Global
Frequently Asked Questions About FLIN SHAREit and Library Resource Sharing
We got good questions during the session. Here are the ones I hear most, answered plainly.
What is FLIN SHAREit?
FLIN SHAREit is Florida’s statewide library resource sharing network, funded by the Division of Library and Information Services and powered by SHAREit from Soutron Global. It connects public, academic, special, and K-12 school libraries into one interlibrary loan system, improving access to more materials than a single library can hold and extending the collection reach of smaller or specialized libraries beyond their local collections. It’s been live since 2020.
Is there a cost to participate in FLIN SHAREit?
No. The program is funded by the Division of Library and Information Services, so FLIN member libraries participate without any fee. Your library’s costs, if anything, go down, because borrowing an item is cheaper than buying it.
Which libraries are eligible to join?
Public, academic, special, and K-12 school libraries in Florida. That breadth is by design. The mix of different collections is a big part of what makes the network valuable for students and faculty, improving equity of information by making high-level educational resources more accessible.
Do we have to replace our current interlibrary loan system?
No. SHAREit sits inside your existing ILL workflow. Both libraries on our webinar panel run SHAREit alongside another interlibrary loan system today. Some libraries eventually consolidate onto one platform; others keep both. That’s your call, not ours.
How long does setup take?
The application is short, and profile configuration typically takes a day or two. You choose a connection type for your catalog, either a live Z39.50 connection or a hybrid record upload option, set your own lending policies, and complete the training. Panelists who lived through implementation described it as straightforward, and their systems staff handled it without drama.
How steep is the learning curve for staff?
Based on what we heard from daily library users and staff: not steep. One panel library had a brand-new staff member running the system independently after working through the training sessions. A full curriculum is available, including topic-specific sessions and a 90-minute general overview of the interlibrary loan process that makes a good first stop. Trained resource sharing staff handle such requests and assist users through the process.
What can be shared through the network?
Both physical items and digital copies. And each library decides what it will and won’t share, so you stay in control of your own collection and policies.
Can we borrow and lend beyond Florida?
Yes, if you want to. Through SHAREit’s Inter-System Sharing Initiative (ISSI), participating libraries can request and lend with libraries in other states, all from inside SHAREit. It’s opt-in.
What happens if we try it and it’s not a fit?
You go back to doing things the way you did before. There’s no penalty and no lock-in. That’s the honest answer, and frankly, it’s the reason I’m comfortable telling any library to go see for itself.
