Web Accessibility in the Institutional Repository: Crafting User-Centered Submission Policies: The Serials Librarian: Vol 0, No 0

Abstract:  While institutional repositories have long focused on ensuring the availability of research, recent university initiatives have begun to focus on other aspects of open access, such as digital accessibility. Indiana University’s institutional repository (IR), IUScholarWorks, audited the accessibility of its existing content and created policies to encourage accessible submissions. No established workflows considering accessibility existed when this audit took place, and no additional resources were allocated to facilitate this shift in focus. As a result, the Scholarly Communication team altered the repository submission workflow to encourage authors to make their finished documents accessible with limited intervention. This paper shares an overview of the accessibility audit that took place, the changes made to our submission process, and finally provides tips and resources for universities who aim to integrate accessibility more thoroughly into their IR practices.