Digital Commons and Accessibility

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

The Midwest Quarterly

ISSN

0026-3451

Volume

66

Issue

3

First Page

12

Publication Date

Spring 2025

Abstract

Digital resource accessibility for blind and print disabled students, faculty, and staff within academic libraries has been an ongoing issue. With an ADA Tide II web compliance date set for April 2027, Pittsburg State University's online repository, Digital Commons, needs a plan to deal with current and future digital materials' accessibility. Print disabilities, or conditions that inhibit someone from reading printed text, vastly narrow the amount of available digital resources. The file types and descriptions of digital materials play a large role in their accessibility, and it was found that many materials on Digital Commons do not fit the needed parameters for that accessibility. For instance, only 5% of Pittsburg State's theses and dissertations are fully accessible digitally. It is the prerogative of the Pittsburg State Digital Archivist and IR Manager of Digital Commons to stay educated on current accessibility legislation, new technologies, and the accessibility status of their resources. This paper discusses how the Digital Archivist analyzed the current holdings, began updating accessibility of materials on Digital Commons, and plans to upkeep that accessibility moving forward.

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