Lean Thinking for Transformation: Actionable Change

Budget reductions are a reality for many in academic library leadership. For decades, significant cutbacks have been made in library operations, staffing, and collections. In an era of enrollment cliff and uncertain political climate, academic libraries along with their parent institutions are bracing for ongoing financial crisis. Library service offerings, in contrast, are expected to strongly support faculty achievement and drive student success. Do leaders have a legitimate claim to additional resources if they have not maximized the effectiveness of existing resources, staff, and processes? What alternatives are available when cutting back is no longer an option?

This webinar outlines lean thinking management philosophy for an academic library setting. The webinar balances foundational thinking with practical tools and examples to foster a culture of efficiency and quality services. We will introduce the core concept of ‘lean thinking’— what it is, how it differs from other philosophies, and why it is relevant to academic libraries. The word 'lean' can be intimidating, often perceived as implying the need to do more with less or destroying jobs in the name of efficiency. Contrary to these popular misconceptions, lean thinking eliminates non-value added ‘waste’ by utilizing existing resources to improve efficiency and work quality without considering job titles.

Successful lean thinking transformation is not just about understanding principles and applying tools, but a fundamental shift in mindset and behavior. We will also discuss the strategic change management to embed lean thinking into an academic library’s organizational culture. Although there are many tools supporting workplace efficiencies, we will focus on swim lane diagram suitable for cross departmental functions to identify opportunities, analyze processes, and implement improvements. The tool will be presented with case studies from the Kanas State University Libraries technical services and others to ensure understanding and its applicability in participants’ own work environment.

 

Learning Outcomes: 

At the end of the session, attendees will be able to:

• Define lean thinking principles and envision how the principles can be applied to their respective libraries;
• Understand culture and mindset, academic libraries’ value, and the leadership role in promoting lean thinking;
• Implement swim lane diagram methodology to processes in their respect libraries, and;
• Access workflows, identify bottlenecks, and recognize immediate opportunities for optimization.

 

Who Should Attend: Library administrators, librarians, or library staff who have oversight of departmental or library-wide operations.

 

Presenters:

Dr. Sheila Yeh is the Dean of University Libraries at the University of Northern Colorado. Committed to research and student-centered learning, she leads strategic efforts to strengthen faculty scholarship support, integrated AI and digital literacy across the curriculum, digital innovation, and student-centered services. She holds a PhD in Computer Science and Information Systems from the University of Colorado Denver, MSE in Industrial and Human Factors Engineering from Wright State University, and MLS in Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Michelle Turvey-Welch is the Head of Content Development at Kansas State University. She has held many different roles over her career within technical services. Michelle holds a Master of Library Science from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from William Jewell College in History and Psychology.

Tech Requirements