Web accessibility: practical advice for the library and information professional
April 26, 2010
This title has a strikingly logical arrangement of topics and chapters, befitting a book which is about accessibility. The introduction provides a clear outline of the rationale for making library and information services in general accessible, and a thorough definition of ‘accessibility’ in a library and information context. The rest of the book looks at the specific aspect of accessibility of electronic services and content, and still more specifically those delivered through the World Wide Web (though some recommendations and principles could be applied more widely). The chapters move the user straightforwardly through assistive technologies and web design in general, including problems and barriers, to specific issues here for the LIS community, including staff training, concluding with good practice examples and future issues. The contributors are a mixture of LIS and accessible technology researchers and practitioners, although there is a preponderance of those affiliated to Manchester Metropolitan University.
The book is very much aimed at the LIS rather than the IT professional, though an awareness of the existence of different operating systems, familiarity with the basics of website design and comfort with looking at e.g. Microsoft support pages is needed to make the most of the book.
The first chapter, although titled ‘ Tools used for widening access to the web’ would be valuable to anyone seeking to improve accessible of any IT environment, including for users without a ‘disability’ as such but who find for example standard screen colours or sizes, or default mouse and keys behaviour, difficult. The extensive list of URLs (useful references are a notable feature throughout the book) and clear run-through of options available on the most widely used operating systems means that this chapter is highly recommended to anyone who supports computer users at any level – and indeed many people would find it aids their own computer-using comfort. This chapter also acts as a useful reminder for those planning websites that design needs to be appropriate for those using such tools. The various third-party options such as screen-reading software are also well covered, as are the problems (and solutions) when working in a networked and security-conscious environment.
Subsequent chapters on web design work well with this initial one, making clear the importance of good design, a clear purpose etc in developing an ‘accessible’ site, rather than an in-depth knowledge of individual assistive technologies. Again the advice on assessing user needs is highly applicable to those working with any group of users, not just those classed as disabled (e.g. advice on plain English is highly relevant for NHS libraries with high numbers of staff with English as another language).
Sloan’s chapter ‘The importance of web accessibility’ places the technical advice in a useful context, where electronic access can in itself remove many barriers to information for users, and increasing user participation breaks down social and economic barriers for those who may have problems in the physical world. It is also a useful checklist of the economic and legal benefits of accessibility, and the barriers to this.
Howell’s companion discussion of legislation, guidance and the history of web accessibility points out the ironies of an increasingly user-driven Web becoming less accessible since authoring tools are rarely hard-wired for this, and implicitly warns against relying on legal requirements and off the shelf solutions.
Sloan’s chapter on accessibility assessment similarly points out the pitfalls of relying on automated tools and provides a very helpful step by step guide to proper evaluations to various standards.
Brophy puts the preceding chapters into a very practical context for LIS professionals, with advice on gradually persuading web designers to improve accessibility, dealing with third-party content and more. The chapter on web accessibility design in the LIS curriculum is more uneven, covering both training for information professionals as well as LIS university curricula. Its discussion of the Design for All concept lacks the nuance on this controversial topic of earlier chapters, and it is not clear how useful the summary of existing university LIS coverage of accessibility is to most professionals.
The Best practice chapter is also a slightly odd mixture of exemplar websites, local and national guidelines and research studies, and duplicates some material (especially that on accessibility assessment) which is better handled elsewhere. Real-world examples here for the interested professional seeking ideas are in fact disappointingly few, although an extensive bibliography is provided.
The final chapter also repeats some issues (e.g. the limitations of existing guidelines) which are handled well earlier, and goes into more detail on this issue than most LIS professionals (as opposed to professional IT staff) will probably care for. The essential point – that a ‘one size fits all’ model is not really possible – is implicit in earlier chapters; probably unwittingly the writer comes a little too close to suggesting that a lower standard of service is acceptable in some contexts, with a rather silly example given. The assumption that accessible alternatives are necessarily expensive and/or difficult is firmly laid to rest earlier in the book.
There is some rather superficial cheerleading also for Web 2.0, the pitfalls as well as benefits of which have been outlined earlier – Skype for example is generally agreed to be an excellent option where face to face meetings are difficult, but is entirely irrelevant to the problem of an academic unable to read the texts he requires for research. The chapter is not really very future-focussed, though in 2004 (when the paper on which it is at least partly based was written) this may have been the case.
Overall an excellent book for any LIS staff with IT responsibilities, although weaker towards the end. While highly accessible in itself even for non-technically minded readers the later chapters may be misleading or at least less helpful for those without some IT and disability awareness, but the initial two-thirds of the book should be required reading.
- Author
- Jenny Craven (editor)
- ISBN
- 9781856046251
- Publisher
- Facet Publishing
- Publisher's website
- http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk