You can attach supplemental PDF files to your EAD and/or RecordEXPRESS collection guides, in cases where you have longer collection inventories and other descriptive information that is not encoded in EAD. It's easy!
For an example of what this looks like, check out the "Additional collection guides" (within "Related resources") links at: https://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt9s2042mx.
The full-text within your PDFs will be searchable within the OAC—meaning they will appear in OAC search results when users hit on any words within.
Please note that this function is not intended for publishing PDF versions of digital items in your collections. If you have PDF versions of digital items, you can link them from your finding aids – see Linking Finding Aid to Digital Objects for details. If you would like to share your digital collections through CDL services, please reach out to us to learn more about Calisphere.
The steps include:
- Step 1: Prepare Supplemental PDF Files
- Step 2: Attach the Supplemental PDF Files to Collection Guides
Prepare Supplemental PDF Files
Creating Web Accessible PDF Files
OAC contributors are responsible for following the UC IT Accessibility Policy as part of our shared commitment to accessibility.
As a contributor, you play a critical role in ensuring accessibility. While the OAC platform supports compliance, any supplemental PDF finding aids that you create and manage must also meet accessibility standards. Please ensure that all contributed PDF content meets accessibility best practices.
The following resources are available to provide guidance as you create accessible and compliant PDFs with confidence. If there are additional resources you would like to recommend, please do share!
How to create and check PDFs using specific applications
| Application | How-To Guides | How to check your work in progress |
|---|---|---|
| Google Docs Google Sheets | Google Help Center | Install freebie plug-ins such as Grackle to check your work before saving the file as a PDF |
| MS Word | Microsoft Help Center: make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities University of California IT tutorials: | From the toolbar, select Review -> Check Accessibility to check your work before saving the file as a PDF |
| MS Excel | Microsoft Help Center: accessibility best practices with Excel spreadsheets University of California IT tutorials: | From the toolbar, select Review -> Check Accessibility to check your work before saving the file as a PDF |
How to check existing PDF files
| Application | Notes |
|---|---|
| axesPDF, PAC, veraPDF | These are examples of free applications that are optimized for validating PDFs |
| Adobe Acrobat Pro | This licensed application has a Prepare for accessibility function |
| Siteimprove | This licensed application (available to UC affiliates) has a PDF validate function |
Supporting users with slow internet connections
In order to access and read the supplemental PDF documents found in OAC, users need to download the PDF to their local system. The file size and structure of your PDF document also impact accessibility. Large file sizes, for instance, make it more challenging for users with slow internet connections to access your content.
The following resources can help you to drastically reduce file size and slash the amount of time it takes for a PDF to load or download:
You can test how quickly your PDFs render using the developer tools in your browser to simulate a slow connection.
Additional contextual information
Supplemental PDF resources may become a distinct resource once they are downloaded from the initial OAC finding aid. In order to ensure users have context for the PDF, please include preliminary information on the first page of the PDF. For example:
- Collection title associated with the inventory (or box list, container list, etc.)
- Collection number
- Name of your repository
- Contact information for your repository, for reference questions
Attach the Supplemental PDF Files to Collection Guides
You can upload and attach supplemental PDF files on "self-serve" basis through the OAC Dashboard.
- Navigate to "Manage Collection Guides"
- Under the list of your collection guides, browse or search for the EAD or RecordEXPRESS guide that you'd like to update
- Select the guide
- Click the Attach PDFs button
- On the resulting page, you can attach one or more supplemental PDFs:
- In the "Title" field, provide a descriptive heading for the PDF
- Specify the numerical order in which the PDF should appear (e.g., "1" for the first PDF, if there are multiple files)
- Use the Browse button to select and upload the PDF file
- Use the Delete button to delete the entire entry for a supplemental PDF file.
- Once completed, click the Save Changes button.
Update and Replace Published Supplemental PDF Files
Once a supplemental PDF file has been published, you can continuously revise and publish the updated results on a "self-serve" basis through the OAC Dashboard:
- Navigate to "Manage Collection Guides"
- Under the list of your collection guides, browse or search for the RecordEXPRESS guide, with PDFs that you'd like to update and replace
- Select the guide
- Click the Attach PDFs button
- On the resulting page, use the Browse button to select and upload your updated PDF file, and click Update to save the changes