Improved Research Integrity with Lean Library’s Latest Upgrade

At Technology from Sage, we’re constantly innovating to redefine and amplify the academic library’s role in advancing teaching, learning, and research. We’ve significantly upgraded our Lean Library browser extension, which prioritizes research integrity.

Lean Library has always been focused on embedding your library’s resources into your patrons’ online workflow, making research seamless and efficient. Our partnership with Scite has already empowered students and researchers with valuable citation insights, showing how academic articles are cited—whether supporting, contrasting, or neutral. But research demands more, especially in the age of GenAI…

Image 1: How the Scite Smart Citations feature works with Lean Library to show how a scientific paper has been cited.

Introducing Retraction and Editorial Notice Insights

With this new update, Lean Library’s integration with Scite now goes one step further, pulling retractions and editorial notices directly into the Scite widget on the Lean Library browser extension. As researchers browse academic articles, they can instantly see whether an article has been retracted or flagged with an editorial notice, in addition to its citation context.

“Historically, it has been very challenging to tell if a paper has been supported, challenged, or even retracted. Scite was started to solve these challenges. Through our partnership with Lean Library, students and researchers can now easily access articles anywhere online and can be sure they are not missing any critical notices, such as a retraction. We’re thrilled to be working with Lean Library helping millions of researchers and students do better work.”

Josh Nicholson, PhD, Chief Strategy Officer at Research Solutions and co-founder of Scite

Why is this Important?

In the fast-paced world of academic publishing, maintaining trust and rigor in research is paramount. In 2023, the number of journal retractions surpassed 10,000 for the first time. Retraction data ensures that researchers can avoid relying on outdated or questionable studies, while editorial notices provide context about the quality or reliability of a publication.

How it Works

The upgraded Lean Library extension displays this new layer of information automatically on academic websites where a DOI is discoverable. Whether you’re examining journal articles, preprints, or research papers on your favorite academic platform, you’ll have an at-a-glance view of:

• Citation context: Supporting, contrasting, and neutral citations.
• Retracted studies: Quickly identify articles that have been officially retracted.
• Editorial notices: Stay informed about flagged concerns or updates to a study.

Image 2: How the Lean Library Scite feature Smart Citations works to at-a-glance citation notices and context when a researcher is searching via Google or Google Scholar.

Empowering Researchers and Libraries Alike

This update enhances not only the experience for students and researchers but also the impact libraries have in fostering academic success. With this comprehensive citation and retraction data, libraries can:

• Promote information literacy and help patrons critically evaluate content.
• Enhance the visibility of the library’s resources in students’ workflows.
• Support rigorous research practices that align with institutional values.

Experience the Benefits of Lean Library

Lean Library is designed to bring your library to where your patrons work, study, and research. With the latest Scite integration, the academic library is central to the research journey—while ensuring research integrity is never compromised.

Image 3: How the Lean Library Scite feature quickly identifies articles that have been officially retracted.

Haven’t tried Lean Library yet?

Let us show you how we can transform your library’s impact on campus and beyond.

Learn more about Lean Library and our latest features at technologyfromsage.com or reach out to schedule a demo today.