TCDL 2025

Advancing Research Data Management through Enhanced Vertical Interoperability
By: Rob Day

Recently, interoperability has taken the forefront of discussions on research data management. For research tools, the focus has been on horizontal interoperability: improving the flows between tools that serve the same category, e.g. Generalist Repository Ecosystem Initiative’s (GREI) work in standardising generalist repository metadata.

However, data and metadata is also going to flow vertically, across tools used in different stages of the research process, until they finally reach the institutional repository and indeed thereafter.. How can we ensure that preservation and archiving work is enabled by the tools used in the research life cycle, rather than having to battle with fragmented information and metadata loss? How can institutions facilitate researcher workflows and uphold FAIR principles through interoperability between their research tools?

We present an end-to-end, integrated research data management workflow for physical samples, which integrates three tools, covering sample collection (Fieldmark), management and processing and archiving/sharing and storage (Dataverse). We also cover how the use of a material sample PID in every tool at every stage of the process acts as an integrating force and enhances data discovery. By utilising a concrete implementation of a research workflow that includes an institutional repository, we will illustrate the possibilities and pain points of integrating vertically.

We wish to present both practical recommendations as well as higher-level reflections on how to approach thinking and developing vertical interoperability at an institution, and its benefits for preservation, open access and RDM as a whole.


Navigating ADA Title II: Enhancing Web Accessibility in Library Publishing
By: Alexa Hight, Mark Baggett, Susan Hoover, Michelle McCrary & Kristi Park

This presentation will provide an overview of the updated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II rule and its implications for library publishing, as well as report on work of a Texas Digital Library (TDL) working group charged with developing resources for journal managers and editorial teams using the TDL’s Open Access Journal Hosting Service. It will consider the fundamental necessity of web accessibility to Open Access publishing, as well as demonstrate the power of collaboration to support meaningful improvement for users with disabilities.

In April 2024, the U.S. Attorney General signed a final rule addressing the accessibility of digital experiences under Title II of the ADA. The new rule requires state and local governments to ensure that web interfaces and content comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines. For most public higher education institutions, the deadline for compliance is April 2026.

The updated rule has implications both for platforms that libraries use to host Open Access journals -- like the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform used by TDL -- but also the content produced and published on those sites.

In response, the TDL OJS Users Group convened a working group in January 2025 to address compliance of the 90+ Open Access journal sites hosted by TDL. Choosing to focus its efforts on the content published on these sites (e.g. articles, images, and recordings), it charged the group with creating and disseminating a web accessibility toolkit for managers and editors of TDL-hosted journals.