From the Editor: Introducing Reports From the Field

An obstacle to process improvement is like a river. You can always see the other side: your vision of what your day would be like when you finally get past this obstacle. It is perfectly easy to continue on without crossing the river, and many people are content to do just that. Many stand on the banks and talk about how it would be great if they were on the other side of the river. If only they had the tools and the knowhow, they might figure out a solution. They stand and talk, but they continue working the same way they always have. Then, a few break off from the group gathered on the bank, concentrate on amassing the resources needed, and start building the bridges. After them, everyone follows. Interlibrary loan is an example of this bridge-building phenomenon. It is staffed by tinkerers and innovators who discuss their ideas for improved workflows in the hallways and lunch breaks of conferences. We are competitive and appreciative, taking what we’ve learned back to our libraries and trying to do even better (see Figure 1). A look at the literature, listservs, and conference presentations shows a community focused on constant improvement and problem solving, looking for obstacles to overcome and never completely satisfied. The desired attributes of an interlibrary loan staff, according to interlibrary loan managers, includes enjoying problem solving, loving a fast-paced environment, and adapting well to change (Shrauger, Radnor, & Santiago, 2012). And while some may hang around on the riverbank longer than others, eventually our entire community gravitates to the next big solution, as evidenced by the cresting wave of listserv notifications from libraries who are discontinuing service with Ariel in favor of better options (Deschenes, 2012). We are a group that appreciates innovation and embraces the benefits of our ever changing business. Just this summer there have been multiple reports from bridge-builders. Rapid Returnables (RapidR) promises to combine the request speed and automated processing of RAPID ILL with full loan capabilities. The service release date is July 1 (M. Richins, personal communication, June 4, 2014). This expansion of RAPID services to loan delivery creates the most far-reaching competition to OCLC resource sharing, yet. Working together with OCLC, European libraries have solved the conundrum of abiding by their national copyright laws while transporting