Improve Retention

## Summary

Umbrella epic for the "Retention" line item in [2026 H2 planning](https://github.com/internetarchive/openlibrary/issues/13194#issuecomment-5062078256), the complement to #13224 (Improve Patronage & Acquisition). Acquisition gets a patron to the book; retention gives them a reason to come back — and per the H2 goals, without both, "Participation isn't realized".

August's framing in the plan is *Core Vitals live & retention (reasons to return)*.

## Not to be confused with the Retention Score

#11956 (Retention Score) is the **measurement** — one of the three Core Vitals scores under #13221, with #13213 as its implementation. This epic is the **work** that the score is meant to move. Keeping them separate matters: a score that goes up because the metric changed is not retention improving.

## Challenges

Currently, the post-registration process fails to connect the patron with value:

- No welcome of any kind
- No books you can read
- No calls to action to add books to your library
- No obvious way to set Yearly Reading Goal

## Related epics already on the 2026 board

These serve retention and are tracked in their own right, not absorbed here:

- #10242 — Add Social Activity Feed to My Books page (reading log events, list events, prompts)
- #12858 — Weekly Prompt homepage widget (staff-curated book discovery)

## Candidate scope, to be confirmed

Not yet linked as sub-issues — this epic is being created ahead of its breakdown, deliberately:

- #11022 — Following Feed should include Lists updates, not just reviews
- #12861 — Mobile-first "What's Happening Now" activity feed
- #2059 — Improvements for Reading Log
- #10335 / #9161 — Registration onboarding flow / new onboarding page (first-return experience)

## Note

Created at @mekarpeles' request on Sprint 2026-08 and added to the [2026 Tracker](https://github.com/orgs/internetarchive/projects/21). The scope above is a starting point drawn from the H2 plan and open retention-adjacent issues; it is expected to be edited rather than treated as settled.