Need meets invention: WMU-built tool tackles PDF accessibility
Kalamazoo, Mich. — If the mother of invention is necessity, the father might be a tight deadline. Need and urgency for a solution led Paul Gallagher, associate dean for resources and digital strategies, to create ReadReady, a new tool to remediate thousands of files to help all Western Michigan University students access critical educational content and comply with a looming digital accessibility deadline in the United States.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II digital accessibility rule requires public universities to make their digital content accessible to people with disabilities, including websites, video and audio, documents and other content. PDFs can be particularly challenging for accessibility, and they are a very common file format.
According to Gallagher, the University Libraries alone has nearly 60,000 PDFs in course reserves and the institutional repository, an archive of WMU research and scholarship. Add that to the massive number of PDFs created by faculty and staff across the University, and remediation becomes much more challenging.
Gallagher decided to develop ReadReady after finding only a few commercial solutions that would have come with a hefty price tag, considering the scale of remediation needed. Manual remediation, while technically possible, would be time-consuming and labor-intensive.
“We frankly needed a solution, and something that would work at our scale with nominal costs. Without an open or affordable commercial option, creating one became an attractive solution,” Gallagher says.
In late February, Gallagher began developing the tool and had a functional product by April, thanks in part to AI-assisted coding that accelerated development. He then engaged numerous campus stakeholders to test the product. After multiple rounds of testing, enhancements and updates, ReadReady launched for campus use in May 2026.
How ReadReady works
ReadReady automatically converts untagged or poorly tagged PDFs into documents that meet federal accessibility standards. Software tools that help blind and low-vision users read and navigate digital content can struggle with untagged PDFs. Without the proper structure and readable text, screen readers can’t navigate the file or read content to the user in an understandable way. For most PDFs, the tool works automatically. Older or more complex files get flagged for manual remediation with step-by-step instructions.
ReadReady can process large batches of files, speeding up evaluation and ensuring consistent results. This feature is especially helpful in light of Western’s goals for digital accessibility and the compliance deadline, which was recently extended to April 2027.
Gallagher built an extensive testing model, so improvements to the code only enhance the tool. Recent aerospace engineering graduate student Rishav Mishra provided additional coding support for the updates.
There is already significant interest in ReadReady across Western’s campus and beyond. Gallagher plans to continue testing and making enhancements before it is made freely available to the broader community later this summer. ReadReady is currently available for on-campus use only.
“Libraries for years have worked to make accessible collections, spaces and services, and delivering quality curricular experiences is based on providing materials that can serve all needs,” Gallagher says.
Faculty often turn to libraries for help with course content and materials, so making this tool available continues to enhance the services University Libraries provides. Making content accessible for everyone is fundamental to Western’s motto—"so that all may learn”—and core to the University Libraries’ mission. The release of this new tool showcases libraries’ ability to evolve and develop innovations in the AI era.
“As a librarian, being able to better serve a diverse community is one of the joys of the profession, and I‘m grateful that we have an opportunity to help provide new solutions to help the campus and beyond,” Gallagher says.
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