Web Accessibility Knowledge and Skills for Non-Web Library Staff

Submitted by mlb78 on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 17:22
TitleWeb Accessibility Knowledge and Skills for Non-Web Library Staff
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2012
AuthorsMcHale, Nina
JournalJournal of Web Librarianship
Volume6
Issue1
Pagination59-68
AbstractWhy do librarians and library staff other than Web librarians and developers need to know about accessibility? It's a no-brainer that those whose jobs are centered on developing and maintaining the library's Web presence ought to be able to develop Web sites and resources in conformance with either or both Section 508 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. However, Web services staff do not -- or should not -- operate in isolation from the rest of the library staff. It is important to consider what areas of online accessibility are applicable to other areas of library work and to colleagues' regular job duties. This All Access column examines how Web librarians can educate and train their colleagues about Web accessibility, particularly with regard to content creation, resource selection, and achieving administrative buy-in and support.
NotesThis article identified several aspects that library staff should pay attention to when it comes to web accessibility skills: 1) Ensuring conformance through templates and content management systems; 2) Providing necessary desktop tools; 3) Providing solid contents and alternative texts; 4) Providing captions and transcripts for multimedia presentations; 5) Guiding web source selections. All of these skills are fundamental for library staff to learn and acquire, in order to improve web accessibility for people with or without disabilities.
DOI10.1080/19322909.2012.648467