Edith Cowan University

Transform collection management by streamlining collection review processes

photo: ECU Joondalup Library — *Edith Cowan University (ECU) Library Services Centre*

"Choreo Insights is like a crystal ball. We’re using it to gain a clearer understanding of our library holdings and to evaluate vendor offers by comparing them against our physical collection. This helps us maximize the value of our e-resource spend and make more informed decisions when deselecting print items.”

Ian Welch
Associate University Librarian, Scholarly Communication and Collections, Edith Cowan University

25 August 2025

Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Western Australia, is preparing to open a new city-center campus (ECU City) while closing one of its existing sites. This transition has required the library to undertake an extensive collection review to refine its physical footprint across campuses. With a digital-first approach adopted 15 years ago, ECU Library faced challenges in efficiently managing its mix of print and electronic holdings.

“What we needed was an innovative tool to eliminate all the manual work,” said Poh Lin Teow, Collections Adviser, Library Scholarly Communication and Collections.

Approach collection management smartly

The library tested Choreo Insights®, OCLC’s library analytics solution, to see its ability to streamline the collection review process. As an institution using WorldShare® Management Services, ECU’s data was already housed in WorldCat®, enabling seamless integration with Choreo Insights.

During the trial, the team focused on matching items from a specific publisher’s collection to identify overlaps with their print holdings. This process was powered by the OCLC Knowledge Base, which connects electronic resources to their print counterparts using the OCLC Work ID.

“With the problem of item matching solved, we could review and assess collections from different vendors more effectively,” said Ian Welch, Associate University Librarian, Scholarly Communication and Collections. “This gave us confidence that Choreo Insights was what we needed.”

“With the problem of item matching solved, we could review and assess collections from different vendors more effectively. This gave us confidence that Choreo Insights was what we needed.”

Ian Welch
Associate University Librarian, Scholarly Communication and Collections

Save time by eliminating manual work

Impressed by the trial results, ECU Library subscribed to Choreo Insights. Implementation was simple—staff only needed user accounts to access the tool, and an OCLC consultant provided a brief overview of its functionality. “Implementation was a snap,” said Ian. “Because it’s an online tool, we simply logged in, uploaded any files we were working on, and ran the analysis.”

The implementation of Choreo Insights also gave other benefits to the ECU library team. They saved significant time by eliminating manual work. “Choreo Insights changed my life,” Poh Lin shared, “I generated 26 reports in less than three days… What used to take me hours now takes less than 15 minutes.” Choreo also prioritized electronic resources with unlimited access, helping the library ensure students worldwide could access essential materials. “Accessible online content is where we’re all heading,” said Ian.

Additional benefits included Choreo identifying overlaps between vendor offerings and existing holdings, therefore directing more budget to high-priority resources with unlimited licensing, and a real-time negotiation tool.

Use data to plan for the future

Looking ahead, ECU Library plans to explore additional functionalities of Choreo Insights, including integrating reports from Tipasa® to identify popular borrowed resources for acquisition. The team is also leveraging savings to broaden its collection, supporting the University’s evolving research activities.

“The potential of the tool is almost unlimited for us, and we are very happy,” Ian concluded. “We all value the OCLC team and the magic that happens with them.”