Becoming a Lean Library

Becoming a Lean Library: Lessons from the World of Technology Startups, Second Edition discusses how libraries can not only survive, but thrive, in the increasingly complex and fast changing world: where most potential patrons either interact, if at all, with libraries mediated through social media and pervasive generative artificial intelligence. The second edition of Becoming a Lean Library: Lessons from the World of Technology Startups provides a framework for library administration, front-line staff, and incoming library and information science graduate students to transform and adapt the library to meet these challenges and leverage emerging trends and opportunities provided by these technological and social changes that their patrons need and require for their information needs and requirements.

• Applies lean principles to improving library operations
• Discusses the use of library open-source products and processes in library workflows
• Shows how to increase observability and responsiveness of library systems and services for more efficient library service delivery
• Discusses the use of AI agents and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) to augment libraries collections and services