Accessibility and Assessment in E-Resources Management

Speaker: Hana Levay, Collection Assessment Librarian at University of Washington
Topic: Assessing VPATs, keyboard accessibility tests (vendor assessment)

Speaker: Andy Andrews, Accessibility Coordinator at University of Washington
Topic: PDF accessibility, academic accessibility (internal assessment)

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Web accessibility is imperative for libraries, both in order to provide users with equitable access to online content and to ensure compliance with federal law prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities.  Libraries are responsible for ensuring the accessibility of their own web content, and are increasingly incorporating accessibility considerations into their evaluation of licensed e-resources.

In this program, we will hear from two representatives from the University of Washington on the accessibility work being done there.

Hana Levay, Collection Assessment Librarian at the University of Washington, will give a brief background on accessibility for the web. Then, she will explain how to use keyboard navigation testing and Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) analysis to create a ranked list of resources, enabling librarians to identify those resources at most risk of being inaccessible.

Andy Andrews, Accessibility Coordinator at the University of Washington Libraries, will briefly cover the history of accessibility at the UW, including the creation of his position at the UW Libraries. Then he will highlight some of the impactful work happening at the UW Libraries to make accessibility part of our culture.