It has been an eventful year for Rialto. With the removal of one-time Proquest ebook purchases and Ebsco as a vendor altogether, it may have seemed like the product was nearing the end of its useful life. However, with new vendors coming on board, such as Browns/VLE and Kortex, the Rialto Working Group is hopeful that libraries will still find value in Rialto as an acquisitions tool. The introduction of PubDirect acquisitions, meaning invoicing done directly through Rialto, as well as a referral model, designed to show offers and allow libraries to exit Rialto’s platform in order to make purchases directly from vendors, demonstrate that Rialto is adjusting to the changing environment of library acquisitions.
In addition to the acquisitions workflows available to Rialto customers, Rialto has recently developed and expanded integrations with the Leganto and Rapido products. It is also expanding some functionality to all Alma customers. The new selection and retention workflows are currently available to assist libraries in their collection development decisions for books, with plans for expanding the service in the future to journal analysis as well. In addition, the upcoming “Rialto for Everyone” will allow all Alma customers to search the Rialto marketplace to identify title options. This functionality will also allow visibility for the upcoming informed fulfillment workflows.
The Rialto Working Group itself has been busy with a couple of projects as well. One includes gearing up for the upcoming CERV cycle. Although the new features of Rialto will not result in any additional enhancement points for this year’s cycle, discussions related to this issue will continue. In addition, although some Rialto features have been made available to all Alma customers, the WG can confirm that only customers using the Rialto acquisitions functionality will be eligible to vote in the CERV enhancement process this year. Finally, the working group is currently finalizing plans for member recruitment. Be on the lookout for emails to the community list with more information about your opportunity to join the Rialto Working Group!