Wrangling over 28K PDFs: Tips & Tricks

Jennifer Sonne

IRT Director, Digital User Experience

Sacramento State

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Digital Collegium Colorado Regional Conference

June 11, 2025

AGENDA

Introduction

Setting the Stage

Timeline

Building the Foundation

Strategic Communication

Takeaways

Q&A

Setting the Stage

• ADA Title II regulation: compliance required by April 24, 2026�https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/
• 2019 university website redesign project introduced PDF proliferation
• Decentralized web content updates made by over 300 web publishers

Image: California state flag, U.S. flag, and Sacramento State flag on campus.

Timeline (2024)

May–November 2024: Discovery & Planning

• May: Learned about upcoming ADA Title II update; began early research
• Summer: Scoped risks—PDF overload and aging faculty content
• Library outreach for archiving support (not feasible)
• October: Launched internal project:�“PDF Accessibility & Remediation for University Website (ADA Title II)”
• November:
• Created full PDF inventory using Cascade reports
• Piloted remediation on 6 PDF types → Identified forms as most complex

Timeline (2025-2026)

January–April 2026: Action & Implementation

• January 2025: Airtable bases created for internal tracking & web publisher mapping
• February 10: First web publisher outreach: delete unused PDFs → 2,000+ deleted
• March:
• Student assistants categorize PDFs
• “Next steps” email to publishers
• Web content specialists begin 1:1 follow-ups
• May: Warning email re: orphaned PDFs → upcoming removal
• August 4: Delete ~12,000 unlinked PDFs
• Fall 2025: Begin active remediation
• Early Spring 2026: Operationalize review process for new PDFs
• April 24, 2026: New ADA Title II regulations take effect

Building the Foundation

• Overall plan
• Inventory/audit and PDF categorization
• Organization of information (Airtable)
• Prioritization strategy
• Decision matrix
• Internal workflow design

Image: Groundbreaking on Mt. Whitney Hall, Sac State’s newest student housing project set to open Fall 2026.

Plan

PDF Metrics: Snapshot from November 2024

Note: These are PDFs from our main university website (WCM). There are other PDF repositories, such as faculty websites and courses, which are being addressed in separate projects.

Most common types of PDFs:

1. Program or Course Proposal
2. Program Information
3. Form
4. Event Information

PDF Metrics: Categorization

Prioritization Strategy

• Based on the PDF metrics and initial categorizations, we decided to work on PDF forms as an entirely separate mini project.
• PDFs without relationships (aka no internal links within our website) was another area where we could drastically reduce our footprint.
• Decision matrix to help us with the remaining PDFs.

Decision Matrix

Internal Workflow Design

• Equidox & Adobe Acrobat Pro: Used for PDF remediation depending on complexity and features (forms, tags, reading order, etc.).
• Student Assistant Team: Supports with PDF categorization, remediation, and Airtable updates.
• Tracking & Coordination
• Airtable: Tracks every known PDF, its status, ownership, remediation priority, and communication history.
• ServiceNow: Used to log time and tasks.

ROLES

• Web Team (IRT WMS): Oversees progress, audits, and web publisher support.
• Web Publishers (Campus Departments): Responsible for reviewing, deleting, or remediating their own PDF content.
• ATS (Academic Technology Services): Provides support to faculty uploading PDFs to Canvas and offers training/resources related to accessible course materials.

Strategic Communication

COORDINATION MODEL

• Identified a primary contact within each stakeholder group.
• Assigned an IRT Web & Mobile Services team liaison to each group.
• Created a shared communication calendar using Airtable to coordinate outreach and touchpoints.

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TIPS

• Start with gentle, supportive messaging, to build trust before introducing pressure.
• Use “Checkpoints” instead of hard deadlines to foster steady progress.
• Plan ahead! Repetition is key for busy stakeholders to absorb and act.
• As deadlines approach, increase urgency without losing a tone of support.

Final Tips & Takeaways

Start with an audit

• Know what you're up against before charging ahead.

Prioritize by risk and visibility

• Not all PDFs are created equal.

Engage your stakeholders early

• Build relationships, not just checklists.

Use the tools you already have

• Maximize what's in your tech stack.

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Communicate often and clearly

• Transparency reduces resistance.

Set realistic milestones

• Break it down to avoid burnout.

Invest in training and templates

• Empower your campus to create accessible content moving forward.

Think beyond compliance

• Accessibility improves UX for everyone.

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Thank you!

Jennifer Sonne

j.sonne@csus.edu

www.jennifersonne.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-sonne-4520b750

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Image: Academic Information Resource Center (AIRC) building on campus.

Images: unless otherwise noted,

images were generated by Google ImageFX.