[Eril-l] Core Webinar: Lean thinking for transformation: Actionable change

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Core Webinar: Lean thinking for transformation: Actionable change

Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2026

All webinars are one hour in length and begin at 11 am Pacific, noon
Mountain, 1 pm Central, and 2 pm Eastern time.



Description:

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 webinar, attendees will have the following learning
outcomes:

   -

   Understanding key lean thinking concepts: participants will be able to
   define lean thinking principles and envision how the principles can be
   applied to their respective libraries
   -

   Understanding culture and mindset, academic libraries’ value, and the
   leadership role in promoting lean thinking
   -

   Participants will be able to implement swim lane diagram methodology to
   processes in their respect libraries
   -

   Participants will be able to 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.

*****************

Registration fees for webinar:  Core Member $57.85; ALA member: $80.10;
Student member $44.50; Non-member $89.00

For additional information and access to registration links, please go to
the following website:

https://elearning.ala.org/local/catalog/view/product.php?productid=1549

Core webinars are recorded and registrants receive a link to the recording
shortly following the live event.

For questions about registration, contact ALA Registration by calling
1-800-545-2433 and press 5 or email registration at ala.org.

For all other questions or comments related to Core webinars, please
contact Core CE staff at corece at ala.org.

*Posted on behalf of the Core Continuing Education Committee.*
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