Accessibility Policy

From LVCCLD's website: "Diversity applies to more than race and ethnicity. It applies to physical disabilities, sexual orientation, age, language and social class." Though LVCCLD's policy addresses services for diverse populations, it does not directly address web accessibility. Like many districts it does not yet have any tools that would support web accessibility for patrons with disabilities. These tools are necessary, and I will explain why, as well as giving examples of what tools might be implemented.

ALA states:

In response to two of the 1990 American Disabilities Act’s (ADA) mandates; any public library must provide equal services to any person requesting them, regardless of disability and that no qualified individual with a disability shall be excluded from participation or be denied services or be subjected to discrimination.

This mandate has been in effect since 1990. I believe many public libraries have attempted to provide such services. For example, a library I worked for specified the distance between any two fixed objects must be three feet or more, to allow wheelchair access. They also had a TTY

device which is a special device that lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired use the telephone to communicate. However, with the light years of advancement made in technology since 1990, new needs must be considered as a part of providing access. The ADA is broadly enough defined that we can include web accessibility.



"I need some solid justifications if the library is to spend all this money on accessibility"

1. Why? Because the ADA instructs us to.
Making the web accessible appeals to the fundamental nature of libraries themselves. Access in order to promote intellectual freedom has always been important, and that access is inhibited for people with disabilities in a regular library setting. Even something as simple as a desktop that can elevated or lowered would make a difference to a person in a wheelchair. There are many disabilities, some obvious and some that are hidden. All of those disabilities need to be addressed. Both software and hardware is going to have an impact on accessibility.

2. It would attract people with disabilities to use the library.
In terms of the library today, many of our users are going to a library to use a computer. It is important to have wider aisles, but that only helps 20% of the disabled users in wheelchairs. If the majority of the 'abled' population wants internet access, then it is only logical that the disabled population wants access as well. These people are part of the voting population, too. When a bid comes up on the ballot, the library, by providing for people with disabilities, may have a stronger position in the community.

3. It would also position the library as an information access point for people with disabilities, their relatives, and their services providers.
In this case, the library is attracting and providing services and information for the people who have disabilities and those that are tangentially related to them. Like a good medical reference selection, information and examples of assisitive technologies can benefit the community as a whole.

4. We want to guarantee that library services are available on an equal basis to all members of the community.
Making the web accessible appeals to the fundamental nature of libraries themselves. Access in order to promote intellectual freedom has always been important, and that access is inhibited for people with disabilities in a regular library setting.

5. The benefits of accessible web design extend beyond the community of people with disabilities and an aging population.
It enables low technology to access high technology (Waddell), which is a very strong argument. Not only would these adaptive/assistive technologies help those with disabilities, but can help provide access to the least advantaged members of our society, the poor. This again appeals to our ethical duties as librarians.

How? What?
A representative from the Disability Resources Center, Dawn Hunziker, presented a variety of tools that could be utilized in libraries for increasing web accessibility. There are several categories of assistive hardware and software; text to speech programs, voice recognition, word prediction, inspiration, screen magnification and screen readers. Of these, Dawn recommended two to start out with. After doing the readings, I agree that screen magnification and screen readers would have an immediate impact and increase accessibility exponentially.

In two instances, the library does not need to risk any amount of money. There are two programs, at least, that are free. ReadPlease and Natural Reader are two of them. Libraries could ease into web accessibility with programs like these.
Another way libraries might save some money is by purchasing one or two macs. Apple has assistive technologies built in to their operating system.

Even changing the default browser might make a difference. According to WebAIM:

The focus that Mozilla Firefox places on web standards and the user experience is quickly making it a popular choice for both web developers and end users alike. Firefox is also becoming a popular browser on the accessibility front. It's Open Source nature and extensibility are allowing Firefox to be a powerful medium for increased accessibility of web content.

The library must also keep up with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. It outlines accessibility related to html, java and other plug-ins. To make this easier, an interesting tool can be found at Cynthia Says. This allows you to test a website against usability standards. University of Arizona's site did well, with some warnings. I tested LVCCLD's site and was confronted by a long list of errors. A demonstration of how inaccessible a library's website is may go a long way to convincing staff and others to adopt new technologies.
Works Cited
Hensley, J. (2005) Adaptive Technologies in "Technology for the Rest of Us", Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

W3C, Web Accessibility Initiative. Accessed 12/07/06. http://www.w3.org/WAI/

ASCLA, Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies. Accessed 12/07/06. http://www.ala.org/ala/ascla/asclaourassoc/guidetopoliciesb/guidepolicies.htm

Waddell, C. Applying the ADA to the Internet: A Web Accessibility Standard. Accessed 12/07/06. http://www.icdri.org/CynthiaW/applying_the_ada_to_the_internet.htm

Cynthia Says. Accessed 12/07/06. http://www.icdri.org/test_your_site_now.htm

WebAIM. Accessed 12/07/06. http://www.webaim.org