INTRODUCTIONThe rapidly changing scholarly communication ecosystem is placing a growing premium on research data and scholarship that is openly available. It also places a growing pressure on universities and research organizations to expand their publishing infrastructures and related services. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM To embrace the change and meet local demands, University of Houston (UH) Libraries formed a cross-departmental open access implementation team in 2017 to expand our open access repository services to accommodate a broad range of research products beyond electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). The result of this effort was the Cougar Research Open Access Repositories (Cougar ROAR), a rebranded and expanded portal to the UH Institutional Repository, and the UH Dataverse, which disseminates the full range of scholarly outputs generated at the University of Houston. This article describes the team's phased activities, including internal preparation, a campus pilot, rebranding, and a robust outreach program. It also details the team's specific tasks, such as building the Cougar ROAR portal, developing ROAR policies and guidelines, enhancing institutional repository functionality, conducting campus promotional activities, and piloting and scaling a campus-wide open access program. NEXT STEPS Based on the pilot project findings and the resulting recommendations, the team outlined key next steps for sustainability of the UH Libraries' open access services: continuation of the campus CV service, establishment of campus-wide OA policy, further promotion of Cougar ROAR and assessment of OA programs and services, and investment in long-term storage and preservation of scholarly output in Cougar ROAR.

In 2019, the University of Houston Libraries formed a Theses and Dissertations Digitization Task Force charged with digitizing and making more widely accessible the University’s collection of over 19,800 legacy theses and dissertations. Supported by funding from the John P. McGovern Foundation, this initiative has proven complex and multifaceted, and one that has engaged the task force in a broad range of activities, from purchasing digitization equipment and software to designing a phased, multiyear plan to execute its charge. This plan is structured around digitization preparation (phase one), development of procedures and workflows (phase two), and promotion and communication to the project’s targeted audiences (phase three). The plan contains step-by-step actions to conduct an environmental scan, inventory the theses and dissertations collections, purchase equipment, craft policies, establish procedures and workflows, and develop digital preservation and communication strategies, allowing the task force to achieve effective planning, workflow automation, progress tracking, and procedures documentation. The innovative and creative approaches undertaken by the Theses and Dissertations Digitization Task Force demonstrated collective intelligence resulting in scaled access and dissemination of the University’s research and scholarship that helps to enhance the University’s impact and reputation.