This resource is intended to provide clarification on what can be expected from the Texas A&M University Libraries in regards to the new Title II, ADA Web Accessibility requirements.
The long-term goal is for the Libraries to be able to assess library-licensed content that has been selected for course material, provide faculty and instructors with an evaluation of the accessibility of materials, and remediate materials when necessary and possible. At this time, the Libraries do not have the resources or training to support this type of assistance, but are in the process of acquiring the tools and training needed to provide this service.
The information below highlights what the Libraries are currently able to provide in terms of assistance for the new ADA Title II compliance.
Library eResources (databases, eJournals, eBooks, articles, etc.)
The majority of the Libraries’ third-party vendors that provide access to eResources are not 100% compliant with the new regulations. The Libraries will be claiming “fundamental alteration of services” exceptions for these vendors. That means we will not be eliminating those resources, but also that we cannot guarantee that all resources provided by those vendors are compliant.
At this time, it is the responsibility of the faculty/instructors to assess selected course materials for accessibility. If a resource is found to not be compliant, the instructor can contact the Libraries’ acquisitions team and they will contact the vendor to request an accessible version. It can take 2-4 weeks for vendors to remediate resources.
In some cases, it may not be possible to remediate or acquire an accessible version of a selected course material. In which case, faculty will need to contact Disability Services for further assistance or consider alternative materials. If new materials are needed, the Libraries can help identify alternative accessible resources for your class.
To get help with contacting a vendor to request an accessible version, or finding alternative resources for your class, please contact our AskUs Service Desk.
The Libraries plan for eResources in the future is to:
- Acquire access and training for assessment tools similar to those currently used by CTE and Technology Services.
- Complete an accessibility assessment of eResources requested by instructors.
- Provide an evaluation for the requested materials based on scoring metrics similar to those used in Canvas.
- If the materials do not meet accessibility standards, library staff will either acquire an accessible version through the vendor or remediate the materials and provide an accessible version for instructors to use.
Library Reserves
The A&M Libraries’ Reserves Services Team makes course materials available electronically when requested by faculty and when the Libraries purchase eTextbooks. We place materials in the reserve system using two methods:
- Web Links (Highly Recommended / Preferred): We use links (URLs) to provide access to library-licensed content (eBooks, video streams, database articles, newspaper articles), websites, and other online video platforms. These links help the Libraries track usage and are used to inform collection development decisions.
Faculty and Instructors can provide a list of their selected course materials to put on reserve, and the Reserves team will assess the available resources. If they are found to not be compliant, the Libraries will contact the vendor to request an accessible version, but cannot guarantee that one will be available. If an accessible version is not available, faculty will need to contact Disability Services for further assistance or consider alternative materials. If new materials are needed, the Libraries can help identify alternative accessible resources for your class.
- Scanned PDFs (Alternative Method): If processing a reserves request requires us to manually scan the materials, we will follow accessibility best practices in accordance with Title II guidelines to ensure the scanned materials are as compliant as we can make them. We will keep requesters informed when materials are too complex for us to remediate without help from the faculty member.
To get help with materials in the Library Reserve system, please contact our Reserve Services team at reserves@library.tamu.edu, or use our Reserves Service request form.
The Libraries plan for Reserve in the future is to:
- Acquire the tools and training to assess materials requested for reserves.
- Have staff and/or student workers remediate materials to the best of our ability if they are found to not be compliant and an accessible version is not available through the vendor.
Open Digital Publishing Platform
The Libraries’ Open Digital Publishing (ODP) is a service supporting the creation and dissemination of high-quality educational content for students and faculty across the Texas A&M University System, with a mission to empower authors and ensure that students have access to affordable, relevant, and openly licensed resources. ODP uses the authoring and publishing platform tool Pressbooks to support accessible design for both creators and readers. Pressbooks regularly evaluates its software for accessibility and maintains public documentation, including its Reading Interface VPAT, Authoring Platform VPAT, and Accessibility Roadmap.
In alignment with OpenEd’s publishing guidelines, all ODP projects, including textbooks, monographs, lab manuals, and ancillary materials undergo an accessibility review by OpenEd's Open Publishing Platform Manager to ensure they meet the WCAG AA standards. OpenEd uses tools such as the WebAIM Accessibility Checker and NVDA screen reader to identify and address accessibility issues. Further, published works are provided in multiple accessible formats (PDF, XML, and ePub) to support broad usability.
Interlibrary Loan (Get It For Me)
Get It For Me is a document delivery service offered by the TAMU Libraries that locates, retrieves, and delivers materials to Texas A&M students, faculty, and staff – whether the materials are available in our extensive collections, from other libraries across the country, or even from institutions overseas.
All Texas A&M Libraries materials scanned by the Get It For Me service team are OCR-enabled to ensure accessibility. The Get It For Me request form includes a note field where patrons may indicate any specific need. If a document obtained from another library is not OCR-enabled and the patron notifies us of an accessibility requirement, the document will be rescanned and OCR processing will be applied by the team. If the accessibility need still cannot be met through this remediation process, due to the pdf containing complex visual content, multilingual or non-latin scripts, scanned musical scores, scientific notation, formulas, or accessibility beyond OCR, the patron will be referred to the University’s Disability Services for additional support.
OAKTrust
OAKTrust makes Texas A&M’s scholarship publicly available to a global audience. OAKTrust is an open access digital repository for collecting, preserving, and distributing the scholarly output of Texas A&M University and its partners. It provides increased access to the products of the University's research and scholarship endeavors, fosters the preservation of these digital works for future generations, promotes increasingly rapid advances in scholarly communication, and helps deepen community understanding of the value of higher education.
Because of this scope and purpose, OAKTrust is not an “archive” in the ADA Title II sense, and materials stored in OAKTrust do not qualify for the Archival Materials exception under ADA Title II.
The Libraries do not have the capacity to remediate PDFs on behalf of faculty or depositors for new deposits into OAKTrust, but will explore tooling to make this possible. For now, faculty and students are responsible for ensuring their own files meet accessibility standards before deposit.
The Libraries plan for the future is to:
- Develop and release a toolkit that provides guidance and checklists for creating accessible documents.
- Create templates and training opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and external partners.
- Develop new deposit guidelines and submission workflows that ensure that all new content is WCAG 2.1 AA compliant.
- Work with the Graduate School and Provost’s Office to ensure materials uploaded through Vireo/SWORD are accessible.
- Develop accessibility metrics, assess high-use collections, and create a phased remediation plan.
- Investigate AI-powered tools that can assist in identifying and remediating inaccessible PDFs
- Add functionality that allows users to request an accessible version of a document be created.
Open Journal System (OJS)
In accordance with the new Title II ADA Web Accessibility requirements, Texas A&M University Libraries is committed to ensuring that all web content published through our platforms is accessible to all users. While the Libraries provide hosting and technical support for over 30 open access journals through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, it is ultimately the responsibility of each journal’s editorial team to ensure their journal complies with accessibility standards.
To assist journal teams, the Libraries through its Texas Digital Library (TDL) partnership have contributed to the creation of a Web Accessibility Toolkit, which provides guidance, resources, and best practices for meeting accessibility requirements. We have also hosted a free webinar to answer questions about the ruling and how to comply.
Journal teams are responsible for:
- Ensuring their journal theme and web content meet ADA accessibility requirements.
- Ensuring that all new published PDFs and other downloadable files are accessible.
- Designating older, non-accessible PDFs as part of a clearly labeled archive section, which is permissible under current guidelines.
The Libraries will meet with each journal team to review accessibility requirements and have them sign an updated user agreement acknowledging their responsibilities for ADA compliance. Before meeting with the journal team, the Libraries will check that the site has no WCAG 2.1 AA issues. The Libraries will also consult with each journal team to ensure they feel supported and to answer any questions about meeting requirements.
Please note that journals that do not comply with the updated accessibility requirements may be subject to removal from the Libraries’ OJS hosting service.