Access for Everyone: ADA and Library Services

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Access for Everyone ADA and Library Services

• Techniques to Make Web Sites Accessible

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Web Accessibility

• Web accessibility didnt become prominent until
  1996
• Department of Justice responded to Senator Tom
  Harkin (D-Iowa), the author of ADA
• Covered entities under the ADA are required to
  provide effective communication, regardless of
  whether they generally communicate through print
  media, audio media or computerized media such as
  the Internet.
• Covered entities that use the Internet for
  communications regarding their programs, goods,
  or services must be prepared to offer those
  communications through accessible means as well.
• The Internet is an excellent source of
  information and, of course, people with
  disabilities should have access to it as
  effective as people without disabilities.

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Implications of the DOJs Ruling

• Involved understanding to what extent the ADA
  requires web pages to be accessible to people
  with disabilities
• Explained how the mandate for effective
  communication in ADA should apply to web pages
  and web design.
• Opened the door for interpretation of
  accessibility claims against commercial web
  sites.

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Legal Milestones

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
  amended in 1998
• 
  

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Section 504

• Mandates reasonable accommodation for employees
  with disabilities
• Requires assistive technology and services to
  people with disabilities
• Mandates program accessibility, and effective
  communication with people who have hearing or
  vision disabilities
• Is the first statue applying civil rights
  protections to people with disabilities
• Is the first law imposing requirements to
  entities that receive federal aid for access for
  persons with disabilities
  

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ADA

• Requires public facilities and public services to
  be accessible.
• Title II of the ADA (Government Programs and
  Services) requires that state and local
  governments give people with disabilities an
  equal opportunity to benefit from all of their
  programs, services, and activities, such as
  public education, employment, transportation,
  recreation, health care, social services, courts,
  voting and town meetings.
• Mandates for effective communication, reasonable
  accommodations, and auxiliary aides and
  services.

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Section 508

• Establishes requirements for electronic and
  information technology developed, maintained,
  procured, or used by the Federal government.
• Imposes strict accessibility requirements for
  electronic and information technology to be
  accessible to people with disabilities, including
  employees and members of the public.
• The application of Section 508 is limited to
  federal agencies and departments only.
  
  

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Library Services for People with Disabilities
Policy

• Covers a broad range of library resources and
  services including
• Library facilities, services, collections,
  assistive technology, employment, library
  education, training, ALA conferences,
  publications, and communications
• Mandates that the ALA web site must conform to
  the currently accepted guidelines for
  accessibility, such as those issued by the W3C

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Library Services for People with Disabilities

• Web Address
• www.ala.org/ascla/access_policy.html

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What is Accessible Design?

• According to W3Cs Guidelines, the accessible
  web design encompasses two areas of concern
• Ensuring graceful transformation
• Making content understandable and navigable

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Benefits of Accessible Web Design

• Greatly reduces the cost for assistive technology
  geared specifically to individual computer
  workstations
• Allows universal access for users from anywhere
  at anytime, and allows the disabled community to
  benefit as a whole
• Enables people with low-end browsers, slow modems
  and narrow bandwidth to access the web and to
  participate fully in the web environment
• Prevents potential law suits

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Barriers in Accessible Design

• Unawareness of the Legal Obligation
• Lack of Professional preparation
• Accessibility implementation on an ad-hoc basis
• Many web developers have not focused on designing
  accessible web pages

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How to Change

• Educate to raise awareness of web accessibility
  issues
• Coordinate with the disabled community
• Conduct self assessment
• Implement repairs

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CSULA Library Experience

• Evaluate the Library Web for ADA Compliance
• Bobby 3.2
• LynxViewer
• JAWS 3.7
• Administrative Support
• Build strong partnership between the Library and
  the disabled community
• Rely on OSD staff for their expertise on the
  needs and abilities of our students
• Invited visually impaired or blind users who rely
  on screen readers to test our site

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Issues Identified

• Acronyms abbreviations
• Jargon and new words
• Graphics
• Labels

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Tools

• Online accessibility resources
• Accessibility evaluation tools
• Online training web sites
• Browser analyzers
• Assistive technology devices
• Tools from vendors