Peer-to-Peer FAQ

What is the Peer-to-Peer project?

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) is a product that III licenses to connect one INN-Reach system to another to enable borrowing/lending of materials between systems.

Both systems retain separate databases; records aren’t shared between catalogs, rather searches are transferred from one system to another. The CO Alliance has licensed Peer-to-Peer software to connect to the MOBIUS consortium. If a patron doesn’t find what they are looking for in Prospector, there is a link to transfer the search into MOBIUS.  From there the patron can place a request on an available item just as they would in Prospector. 

When the lending library receives the item, the item shows up in the INN-Reach tab and is processed just like a Prospector request. Prospector libraries can print courier slips that are prepopulated with the library name, Missouri library courier code, MOBUIS Courier code, and library address. 

What is MOBIUS?

MOBIUS is a 501(3)C Non-profit Consortium based out of Columbia, MO. It has over 70 members, which includes academic, public and special libraries. MOBIUS manages the INN-Reach catalog as well as local Sierra systems for member libraries. 

What libraries can participate in the P2P connection with MOBIUS? 

Only Sierra, Millennium or Polaris libraries can participate in P2P.  Non-III libraries cannot participate in MOBIUS due to software compatibility issues. Only Marmot academic libraries participate in the P2P connection. None of the Marmot public libraries are part of P2P. For a list of participating Marmot libraries see: https://www.marmot.org/member-libraries .

Where can I find a list of the Circulation contacts for Mobius?

http://mobiusconsortium.org/circulation-and-ill-contact-list

Where can I find a list of MOBIUS libraries?

https://mobiusconsortium.org/members-by-cluster

Will the MOBIUS libraries request all of our popular items?

Quite the contrary--borrowing and lending is reciprocal and fairly balanced among Prospector libraries. This was a fear when we began Prospector back in 1999, but it never materialized.The same is true of MOBIUS.  MOBIUS requests make up less than 2% of of all Prospector requests.  This averages out to be less than 150 requests per month per library.  

How do we check in the Mobius items? Do we scan the barcodes on the material?

You will scan the barcodes to check the items in using the normal check-in function in Millennium or Sierra.

What are the MOBIUS loan rules? 

Prospector and MOBIUS have very similar lending policies. So to keep things simple, Prospector libraries have copied their existing Prospector loan rules to create two new loan rules for MOBIUS. When you receive a MOBIUS item for your patron, you will use the MOBIUS loan rule, which should be very similar, if not the same as the existing Prospector loan rule for either media or monographs. Prospector has two loan rules 7 days with no renewal on AV items and one checkout + one renewal for monographs.

Prospector libraries don't exchange money for lost items. Does this same practice apply to MOBIUS libraries?

Yes, MOBIUS has agreed to reimburse their libraries for items that Colorado patrons have lost. If an item being borrowed through MOBIUS is lost or damaged, please contact rose-at-coalliance.org and we will take it from there. 

MOBIUS charges $120 for a lost item. Does this charge apply to all items and is their room for negotiation?

The MOBIUS office has agreed to reimburse their libraries for items lost or damaged through Prospector.  Contact rose-at-coalliance.org for lost or damaged items. 

How do I send items to MOBIUS libraries? 

CLiC has created special labels for MOBIUS items.  Please be sure that you are using the latest set of labels: https://www.coalliance.org/sites/default/files/MobiusLabel1.pdf .   

1. Download the label and open it as a PDF with Adobe Acrobat Reader. 

2. Click the "reset" button to refresh the labels. 

3. Refer to the MOBIUS legend for identifying the correct library code/name. https://www.coalliance.org/sites/default/files/MobiusCodesLegend.xlsx

4, Attach the label to the outside of the item(s) just as you would a CO courier label.

Do we need to place MOBIUS items in bags when returning or sending materials? 

It's not necessary to place items in MOBIUS bags.  However, please do return MOBIUS bags when sending items back to Missouri. 

Will P2P requests show up on INNReach reports – institutional overdues, requested too long, returned too long, etc?

Yes, MOBIUS requests will be treated just as all your other INN-Reach requests.

Will custom print templates in Sierra and Millennium work with P2P requests?

Yes.

How do I get lending/borrowing statistics for MOBIUS?

The Prospector fulfillment report includes the number of items that MOBIUS libraries have borrowed from each Prospector library. Refer to the second row of the spreadsheet "Borrowing Site". http://prospector.coalliance.org:4444/olinkpatrep/report2/0/.  Here's an example.

For  the number of items Prospector libraries borrow from MOBIUS libraries, go to http://classic.searchmobius.org:4444/olinkpatrep/report2/0/ under "owning/lending site" each borrowing library is listed.  This is the total number of borrows from each MOBIUS/Prospector library. Refer to individual columns for the specific number of items borrowed from each MOBIUS library. Here's an example. 

Should we expect a lot of requests to/from the Prospector libraries?

The MOBIUS connection has been in place since 2014.  Requests continue to be very low; MOBIUS requests make up less than 2% of of all Prospector requests.  This averages out to be less than 150 requests per month per library.