To use these add-ons, you'll need to download Firefox.

Log in
Add-on icon

Reviews for Lean Library

Lean Library by TfS Extensions

2.9 Stars out of 5
5
17
4
8
3
4
2
11
1
18
11 reviews
  • by Lourdeau, 3 months ago
    This would be a 5-star extensions if the performance wasn't so terrible, especially on websites like youtube or facebook where it shouldn't even be active. There really should be a way to create a blacklist of websites to disable the extension. The disable switches in the popup don't work most of the time, or have weird behaviour

    Developer response

    posted 3 months ago
    Hi Lourdeau,

    Thank you for your feedback!

    We are aware of the issue that some users are experiencing with the Firefox browser, and we are working on resolving it as quickly as possible.

    In the meantime, there is a feature available to your library that allows them to block the extension on websites where it’s not needed. If you could kindly provide the university you attend, we can contact the library to enable this feature for you.

    Alternatively, if you'd like to discuss this directly, please feel free to reach out to us at support@leanlibrary.com, and we’d be happy to assist further.

    Best wishes,
    Lean Library
  • by Steven Crane, 5 months ago
    Significantly slows down my browser, even on an M1 Max Macbook pro with 32gb of ram.

    Developer response

    posted 5 months ago
    Hi Steven,

    Thank you for your feedback regarding the performance issues you experienced. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused.

    I’m happy to inform you that this issue has been resolved. If you encounter any further problems or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at support@leanlibrary.com. We’re here to help!

    Thank you for your understanding, and we appreciate your patience.

    Kind regards
    Lean Library
  • by Xard, 5 months ago
    I would give the feature 4 stars, though the extension itself is lacking.
    It's always on without an easy 'off' switch, meaning I have to manually go into my settings to turn it off, otherwise it bogs down my browser. It will often pop-up after I've already gotten to the intended page from clicking the provided link. If I click the pop-up, it opens the exact same page, again.
    Overall I still find it incredibly useful, though its implementation is wanting.

    Developer response

    posted 5 months ago
    Hi there Xard,

    Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on our extension. We’re glad to hear you find the feature useful!

    We understand how frustrating it can be when the extension behaves unexpectedly and we would firstly like to apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

    I’m happy to let you know that we’ve addressed these issues and improved the performance of the extension.

    If you have any further concerns or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to us directly at support@leanlibrary.com.

    Best regards,
    Lean Library
  • by Firefox user 15550996, 6 months ago
    The shortcut does "work" for me, as in, it allows me to access scientific literature though my university its library.

    HOWEVER, That does not mean that this extention works well, far from it...

    The extention is Always Active, with no options to change this. I would much rather have it off by default and activated upon request, or be able to manage sites it works on with either a whitelist or a blacklist...

    The extention often causes a lot of slowdown on different sites, and also regularly pops up the "sign in to your institution" widget when visiting sites like wikipedia... as you might have guessed, I don't need a library log in on a site which gives me its information for free :/

    It does the bare minimum which it promisses to do, so I won't give it one star, but man, would I like a better extention for this.....

    Developer response

    posted 5 months ago
    Hello,

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts on our extension.

    There is indeed an option to pause the extension so it is not active when you do not wish for it to be. You can easily click the toggle button on the extension to turn it off when you don’t need it, allowing for a smoother browsing experience.

    Additionally, we’ve resolved the issues related to browser slowdowns which you mentioned.

    If you continue to experience any problems or have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at support@leanlibrary.com. We’re here to help and are always looking to improve!

    Best regards,
    Lean Library
  • by Luke, a year ago
    Buggy. Recently started forcing infinite redirect loops on IEEE and Taylor & Francis.

    Developer response

    posted a year ago
    Hello Luke, thanks for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that there was indefinite loop on these sites. The settings are managed by your library, so if you could kindly get in touch with us at support@leanlibrary.com, we will then be able to obtain more information and investigate this for you.

    Best wishes
    Lean Library team
  • by Mees, 3 years ago
    does what it should do, but uses a lot of resources which drains battery life.

    Developer response

    posted 3 years ago
    Hello there

    Thanks for your feedback and we are sorry to hear this.

    In order to investigate this a bit more, we will need some more details as we don’t know of any issues at present that would cause a heavier consume battery life. Please contact us at support@leanlibrary.com and we would be very happy to look into this and help resolve it for you.

    In the meantime, here are some of the minimum requirements you need to have in your computer to experience the best performance of the Lean Library extension:

    1. Please make sure to update your extension to the latest available version for your preferred browser.
    2. Update your browser to the latest available version.
    3. Update the operating system of your computer to at least Windows 7 or higher, macOS Big Sur 11 or higher.
    4. We recommend using a computer with Intel processer series 5 or higher for the best performances of the Lean Library extension.
    5. Having a consistent internet connection is required for the extension to work properly.
    6. The number of tabs you have opened within the browser can also affect the speed of the extension as the other tabs can utilise the CPU, RAM and Internet bandwidth as well. Therefore we recommend you not to open too many tabs at the same time for the best Lean Library experience.

    For more details, please visit: https://intercom.help/lean-library/en/articles/5587891-minimal-requirements-for-the-lean-library-extension

    Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.

    Best wishes
    Clare
  • by Firefox user 17067935, 3 years ago
  • by Prof.Nora, 4 years ago
    It slows down my browser for some reason, so I had to uninstall it. Also, the extension kept popping up which was very distracting and annoying. The extension also often overrides normal access to the most random websites, making it nearly impossible to view some sites because the extension forces me to visit a different site or just refuses to let me access it. And once I have managed to log into a site it still takes me numerous clicks to get to the PDF. Overall not a very helpful tool for my research.

    Developer response

    posted 4 years ago
    Hi Prof.Nora,

    Thanks very much for your reply and I am sorry to hear this. This can be fixed by changing some settings. If you can get in touch with us directly support@leanlibrary.com and let us know which institute you are with, we can definitely give you some suggestions on the settings.

    Best wishes
    Clare
  • by Thomas, 4 years ago
  • by Retr0, 4 years ago
    While the extensions does what it says by giving you access through your library. It also is extremely intensive on the cpu, resulting in a frustrating delay when typing in text fields (such as where I write this review, but also comment sections on social websites and even in Google Docs and Word online). This delay forces me to disable the extension in order to browse normally. Please fix

    Developer response

    posted 4 years ago
    Hello there

    Thanks for your feedback and we are sorry to hear this.

    In order to investigate this a bit more, we will need some more details. Please contact us at support@leanlibrary.com and we would be very happy to look into this and help resolve it for you.

    Best wishes
    Clare
  • by fluffymitten, 4 years ago
    This add on often overrides normal access to the most random websites, making it impossible to view some sites because the add-on forces me to visit a different site or just plain refuses to let me in. There should be a prompt to continue as a non-Institution user or use my institution's credentials. I've disabled the add-on as it interfered so badly with day to day browsing of news and research sites that I need for work rather than my studies.

    Developer response

    posted 4 years ago
    Hello

    We appreciate your feedback.

    The pop-up settings are managed by your library but we understand this might be frustrating for you. To address this, on the Lean Library's extension page, please tick "Skip the popup and automate my access.", you will then stop seeing the pop-ups unless you click on our extension.

    To increase the optimization for our users, we are currently working on an end-user dashboard, where you will be able customize your own pop-up settings and set your own preferences.

    This is under development at the moment and we will release it soon so keep an eye out for an announcement about this!

    Best wishes
    Clare