Accessibility and Inclusion Issues in Library Acquisitions: A Guideline to Evaluating and Marketing the Accessibility of Library E-Resources

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to emphasize accessibility and inclusion issues within academic libraries in the United States, specifically in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal laws relevant to acquisition services. A review of best practices for evaluating, purchasing, and marketing electronic resources is undertaken with an understanding of U.S. federal law and regulations in relation to purchasing and marketing, specifically Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010). Few other recent studies document the exact application of evaluating products and services for users with disabilities in acquisition workflows and electronic resource implementation practices. As a model for other libraries, the author discusses using LibGuides as an outreach tool to disseminate information and documentation dedicated to disability issues among City University of New York (CUNY) librarians. The methodology of this study is to share best practices at the College of Staten Island (CSI) Library–CUNY with other academic libraries. The results will hopefully lead to more inclusive acquisition purchasing practices and more diverse marketing initiatives within academic libraries. The conclusion of the study is that purchasing and marketing workflows need to be redesigned to be universally applicable to all library users.

Comparing the “value of information services” for providers and vulnerable patrons: a mixed-methods study with academic libraries and students with disabilities

“…Document magnification devices help visually impaired students read the material needed to complete their assignments (Calvert et al, 2019). When used alongside applications designed to support reading, writing fluency software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking (Nelson and Reynolds, 2015), enables students with visual, hearing, and cognitive impairments to produce quality writing due to these tools' word prediction and spell-checking functions (Falloon, 2016). In addition, students with traumatic brain injuries may use Kurzweil to find definitions of unfamiliar words (Kernohan, 2008).…”

“…The benefits provided through any service are the value (Vargo and Lusch, 2004, 2008, 2016). An information service's value is based on its affective meaning or explicit use (Drosopoulou and Cox, 2020).…”