From Tool Overload to Seamless Research: Lean Library Workspace

We recently hosted a webinar introducing Lean Library Workspace—the latest development in our mission to redefine and amplify the power of the academic library to advance teaching, learning and research. Lean Library Workspace transforms Lean Library into the ultimate end-to-end research tool.

Library professionals from around the world joined us, sharing their experiences, challenges and perspectives. Through polls and discussion, one message was clear: students and researchers are expected to navigate too many tools and libraries need to provide more streamlined and integrated support.

What is Lean Library Workspace?

Lean Library Workspace takes the library and its users beyond the access, discovery and guidance part of the research workflow that Lean Library currently supports, through to reference management, project collaboration and authoring work. It connects the browser extension to a new Lean Library Workspace website and accompanying Google Docs and Word plug-ins.

Tackling Tool Fatigue

One of the strongest themes to emerge from our webinar polls was tool fatigue. Students and researchers are often expected to juggle multiple platforms—one for access, another for reference management, a third for collaboration, and so on.

When we asked, “How many new tools do students and researchers need to learn to succeed academically?”, most respondents said between three to eight. That’s a steep learning curve, especially for new students. And it often leads to confusion about what the library supports, or where to go for help.

This underlines the value of an all-in-one tool like Lean Library Workspace—one that simplifies the research journey by bringing together discovery, access, citation, collaboration, and authoring into one seamless tool. The result? A more focused, less fragmented experience, helping students and researchers focus on their work rather than struggling to manage multiple tools and platforms.

How Libraries Currently Support Research Skills

Libraries are already doing a great deal to support research skills through:

• In-person and virtual workshops
• One-on-one support sessions
• Guides, tutorials, and digital tools
• Integrated support during orientation week and classes

But even with this support, users often remain unaware of what resources and services are available through the library or how to access them. Lean Library helps bridge this gap by delivering support at their point of need—whether on Google Scholar, Wikipedia, or even ChatGPT.

📌Tip: Take advantage of Lean Library’s promotional toolkit—including a Lean Library Workspace LibGuide, videos, flyers, and more—to help build awareness of Lean Library on campus. Group deployment is also available and can increases engagement significantly.

What’s Missing from Current Toolsets?

Our polls uncovered key gaps in current library offerings:

• Over 20% said they don’t currently have a tool for streamlining access to resources
• Nearly 10% do not offer a reference management tool

This highlights a growing need for tools that work across the entire research workflow—just like Lean Library Workspace does.

Where do users need the most support?

When we asked, “Where do your students and researchers most often need support in their research workflow?”, responses consistently highlighted a few key areas:

• Discovering content and resources
• Managing references and citation styles
• Knowing what is available via the library or Open Access
• Accessing resources

These challenges reflect the complex nature of the modern researcher workflow. Lean Library supports users in each of these areas without requiring them to leave their workflow or learn yet another platform.

The Impact of an All-in-One Tool

According to attendees, an all-in-one tool like Lean Library Workspace could offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• Reducing tool fatigue and overwhelm
• Upskilling new students in reference management
• Saving time for researchers and librarians alike
• Boosting usage of library resources
• Enabling deeper insights into user workflows

With our librarian dashboard, Lean Library Workspace also equips libraries with valuable analytics to inform decision-making and demonstrate the library’s impact.

Who Benefits Most?

The answer: everyone! According to poll respondents, undergraduate students, postgraduate researchers, faculty, and librarians all stand to gain from a tool like Lean Library Workspace.

It simplifies the research journey, increases efficiency, boosts productivity, saves money and time, drives usage of resources, and brings more visibility to the library.

What Users Are Saying

“I love it more than Papers and EndNote. It’s intuitive, quick, and easy.”
— Ernesto Perez, Postdoctoral Fellow, NIH

“The best scholarly tool I’ve seen so far in terms of its practical usage!”
— Shervin Safavi, PhD student, Max Planck Institute

Ready to Seamlessly Bring Your Library into the Research Workflow?

Lean Library Workspace isn’t just another tool. It’s a direct response to the increasing complexity of today’s digital research workflows. It removes the challenges of jumping between platforms and brings your library’s resources and service into a single user-friendly experience.

Lean Library puts the library at the heart of every research journey. Providing an uninterrupted research rhythm to your users. Stop requiring students and researchers to find the library—let the library come to them.

Interested in a personalised demo? Request one here or email us at info@technologyfromsage.com.

🔗 Explore Lean Library Workspace today: workspace.leanlibrary.com