1/27/2026
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Eastern

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Innovation and Collection Management

Accessibility workflows are a crucial step in the full lifecycle of digital collections work. Too often, however, these workflows are time consuming, tedious, and a significant burden on teams with limited resources. How can we lighten the workload of creating accessible collections, while ensuring the accuracy of the information provided? While it may not be the answer to every problem, artificial intelligence (combined with human quality control) can help teams improve the accessibility of their digital collections. This improved access to collections will enrich the teaching and learning of faculty, staff, and students across campus.   
 
In this presentation, presenters will explore the intersection of AI, accessibility, and digitized special collections. By exploring image descriptions, transcriptions of hand-written materials, and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) for information retrieval, the team will share the ways in which AI has helped (or harmed) digital collections workflows.
 
Learning Objectives:

• Explain how AI tools can be integrated into accessibility workflows for digitized special collections, including its potential benefits and limitations when paired with human quality control. 
• Evaluate the effectiveness of AI-assisted tools for image description and handwritten text transcription in improving access to digital collections.
•  Identify practical strategies for using AI to reduce staff workload while maintaining accuracy and ethical standards in accessible digital collections work.

 Presenters:

Sidney Gao, Interim Director of Digital Initiatives, Digital Collections Manager, University of Cincinnati Libraries
Sidney is the Digital Collections Manager at the University of Cincinnati Libraries, a BIPOC advocate, and a life-long learner. As part of UCL’s Digital Initiatives Team, she is responsible for creating, implementing, and maintaining digital collections for UC's special collections libraries. Sidney has spent her career working to increase representation of traditionally underrepresented groups in academic library digital collections, and is passionate about improving the accessibility of the collections she stewards.

Sean Crowe, Digital Projects Librarian, University of Cincinnati Libraries
Sean is the Digital Projects Librarian at the University of Cincinnati Libraries. He coordinates digital exhibits for the team and is working on developing a Digital Humanities service catalog for the Libraries. In the recent past he has worked in digital publishing as well as web development for digital repositories. 

James Van Mil, Digital Preservation Library, University of Cincinnati Libraries
James is the Digital Preservation Librarian at the University of Cincinnati Libraries, where he has worked in multiple roles from serials acquisitions to software development. He currently focuses on digital collections development, maintenance, and preservation in support of multiple facets of inclusion and access.

 

Setting: Live Virtual
Online via Zoom
UNITED STATES

Hillary Brown

Who Should Attend:  Anyone interested in learning about  AI and accessibility of digital collections
Competency  Innovation and Collection Management

Non-Member Cost:      $40
NEO-RLS Bronze Member Cost:  $24
NEO-RLS Silver Member Cost:   FREE
NEO-RLS Gold Member Cost:    FREE
NEO-RLS Individual Member Cost:  $20

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1/27/2026

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