Leveraging Lean Six Sigma to Culture, Nurture, and Sustain Assessment and Change in the Academic Library Environment

This paper explores the application of Lean Six Sigma, a business improvement philosophy and methodology, in the academic library environment as one means to nurture and sustain a culture of assessment and change. It includes an overview of the philosophy and an example of an actual virtual reference improvement project that was conducted using Lean Six Sigma tools and principles at The Ohio State University Libraries. It concludes with a discussion of the benefits and limitations of deploying a Lean Six Sigma initiative within a library organization.