Lean Library

Name: Lean Library
Rating: 2.8814 (59 reviews)
Author: TfS Extensions

The Lean Library extension is a free tool which assists your library in delivering their services directly into your research workflow in more ways than one!

This add-on was removed from Firefox Browser Add-ons on 2025-05-26

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The Lean Library Chrome extension is a free, powerful tool designed to integrate your library's services directly into your online research activities. It provides seamless access to your library's articles and ebooks, removing paywalls and multiple login hassles by notifying you when content is available and enabling instant access with a click.

Additionally, the extension features Lean Library Open, unlocking legal and instant access to over a third of academic papers available as open access, perfect for users without institutional affiliation. The upcoming Lean Library Futures service aims to bring even more library services into your workflow through this extension, enhancing your research experience further.

Add-on Education Productivity Developer Tools

By:

Daily users:

Rating:

Version:

2025.3.0 Last updated: 2025-03-13

Version code:

5903629

Creation date:

2017-02-22

Risk:

Permissions:

storage
tabs
alarms
activeTab
webNavigation
contextMenus
unlimitedStorage

Host permissions:

http://*/*
https://*/*
<all_urls>

Size:

11.57MB

Email:

su*****@leanlibrary.com

URLs:

Website ,Privacy policy

Full description:

Source:

Firefox Browser Add-ons

Data ingested on:

2025-05-26

Other platforms

Lean Library (v2025.12.0)

200,000 3.62

(119)

Lean Library (v2025.12.0)

89,281 3.80

(6)

User reviews

Users appreciate Lean Library's ability to provide access to academic literature remotely and replicate campus library access. However, many report significant browser slowdown, website breakage, and intrusive pop-ups. The extension lacks proper control options such as effective disable switches or site whitelisting/blacklisting, which frustrates many users. Some experience difficulties with login and institution selection. While the company is responsive and the add-on is valuable for academic access, its technical implementation and usability issues detract from overall satisfaction.

Pros

Provides useful access to scientific literature through university libraries.
Helps replicate the "on campus" experience for accessing academic articles remotely.
Generally effective in allowing access to articles and literature.
Responsive company and support for institutional customers.

Cons

Significantly slows down browser performance, causing lag especially on popular sites.
No easy way to disable or manage the extension per-site, with ineffective or missing off switches.
Breaks functionality of some non-academic websites, causing glitches or errors.
Persistent and sometimes intrusive pop-ups even on pages where login is unnecessary.
Installation and login process can be confusing or non-functional for some users.

Recent reviews

It's buggy, and it breaks some websites like: search dot nixos dot org

by Ku*****, 2025-04-29

by Fi*****, 2025-03-21

by Si*****, 2025-02-17

View all user reviews ›

Extension safety

Risk impact

Risk impact measures the level of extra permissions an extension has access to. A low risk impact extension cannot do much harms, whereas a high risk impact extension can do a lot of damage like stealing your password, bypassing your security settings, and accessing your personal data. High risk impact extensions are not necessarily malicious. However, if they do turn malicious, they can be very harmful.

Lean Library requires some sensitive permissions that could impact your browser and data security. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk impact analysis details

Critical Grants access to browser tabs, which can be used to track user browsing habits and history, presenting a privacy concern.
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Risk likelihood

Risk likelihood measures the probability that a Firefox add-on may turn malicious. This is determined by the publisher and the Firefox add-on reputation on Firefox Browser Add-ons, the amount of time the Firefox add-on has been around, and other signals about the Firefox add-on. Our algorithms are not perfect, and are subject to change as we discover new ways to detect malicious extensions. We recommend that you always exercise caution when installing a Firefox add-on.

Lean Library may not be trust-worthy. Avoid installing if possible unless you really trust this publisher.