Disability and accessibility in the library and information science literature: A content analysis

Submitted by mlb78 on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 17:22
TitleDisability and accessibility in the library and information science literature: A content analysis
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsHill, Heather
JournalLibrary & Information Science Research
Volume35
Issue2
Pagination137-142
AbstractThe library profession is a strong and vocal proponent of increased information access for people with disabilities. With the discipline's longstanding interest in the subject of services to people with disabilities, questions arise about how the profession perceives the phenomenon. How is library and information science (LIS), as a discipline, conceptualizing disability and accessibility? A content analysis of the LIS literature was conducted to examine this question. The literature provides a fertile ground for study as it reflects the profession's approaches to, and perceptions of, a topic. This research identifies the major issues and trends in the research about accessibility and disability in the LIS literature throughout a 10-year period, 2000-2010. The strongest theme in the literature is accessibility as it relates to web, database, and software, while the prevailing disability of focus is visual disabilities. The overall environment emphasizes technology more than attitudinal aspects associated with disabilities. The research could benefit from increased direct participation of people with disabilities.
NotesThis research paper conducted a content analysis to see how libraries and relevant fields had addressed disability and accessiblity issues over the past ten years. Future library practices could learn from examples presented in this article and continue adovating a user-centered approach to better improve library accessibility for people with disabilities.
URLhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740818813000030
DOI10.1016/j.lisr.2012.11.002