Accessibility Best Practices, Procedures, and Policies in Northwest United States Academic Libraries

Abstract

Academic libraries are responsible for providing accessible copies of collection materials to individuals facing a variety of accessibility needs. Accessibility needs differ from user to user, often making each request an individualized service. However, do academic libraries have a responsibility to embrace a Universal Design for Learning approach to their acquisitions process? Do academic library workers need to establish policies as part of the procurement process? This research surveyed academic libraries at institutions similar to Affiliated University in size, graduate program offerings, and within the same region to help answer the questions: how academic libraries in the Northwest United States establish practices, policies, procedures, and workflows to meet these needs, and: how do academic libraries currently meet these needs when providing streaming media services, and other collection materials, to users with accessibility needs? Keywords accessibility, higher education, academic libraries, video, multimedia, streaming video, universal design for learning The goal of this research is to gain a preliminary understanding of current practices and glean information about perceptions and procedures regarding accessibility needs; especially as they pertain to the acquisition of multimedia materials in Northwest academic libraries. This article will describe our methods and findings before providing information that can be used to educate library workers on the accessibility needs, best practices, common workflows, and potential procedures to implement to ensure they serve all users regardless of disability. Literature Review Accessibility The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prevents discrimination against those with disabilities in any organization that receives federal funding. This act, coupled with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, provides a solid foundation protecting the rights to those with disabilities. Neither act, however, speaks directly to the use of technology or the internet. Therefore, in 1998 Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act, amending section 508 which deals specifically with electronic and information technology (GSA Government-wide IT Accessibility Program, 2018). The standards in this amendment were later revised based on work done by outside organizations such as the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and the policies described by the European Union for products and services in the European Accessibility Act (European Commission, 2018). In 2009, the American Libraries Association (ALA) issued recommended guidelines to libraries for the "purchasing, procuring, using, maintaining and contracting for electronic resources" (American Library Association, 2019). This included a recommendation that libraries obtain guarantees from vendors that their products follow Section 508 regulations and other accessibility guidelines. However, the degree to which these recommendations have been adopted by academic libraries is unclear. Furthermore, lawsu...

Open but Not for All: A Survey of Open Educational Resource Librarians on Accessibility

“…Of the 16 participants (representing various institutions), 90 percent reported that accessibility impacted their acquisitions decision-making in some way, but only about 20 percent said that their library or institution had a policy document or written guidelines about accessibility in purchasing. 14 Most participants also indicated that their institutions did not have room in their budgets to adequately support accessibility training and resources at the library. Only 40 percent said that they had participated in the accessibility training offered at their colleges and universities.…”

Every “reader” his or her “book”

“…The library services for PWDs policy was enforced by ALA states that libraries should work towards facilitating their full participation in society by implementing the Universal Design principles of perceivable, operable, understandable, and robustness. The use of universal design techniques can guarantee that library policy, resources, and services satisfy the needs of all individuals (Peacock & Vecchione, 2020). Improved accessibility of physical and website architecture, providing materials in multiple formats, developing assistive technology resources, and training library staff on effective ways to interact with PWDs are just a few of the UD applications described by library literature.…”

A thematic analysis of library association policies on services to persons with disabilities

“…He found that policies around digitization, electronic resources collections, among others, fall noticeably short of supporting an accessible environment. Peacock and Vecchione (2020) found in their research on academic libraries that they often lacked a comprehensive policy to facilitate the needs of persons with disabilities.…”