Web accessibility at university libraries and library schools

Submitted by mlb78 on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 17:23
TitleWeb accessibility at university libraries and library schools
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2007
AuthorsComeaux, David, and Schmetzke, Axel
JournalLibrary Hi Tech
Volume25
Issue4
Pagination457-477
ISSN Number0737-8831
Accession Number28782468
Keywordsacademic libraries, disabilities, libraries, library, Web accessibility, worldwide web
AbstractPurpose - Only properly designed web sites are accessible to people with print disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to follow up on earlier investigations of this kind by looking at the web sites of all 56 ALA-accredited library schools, and of the libraries on these campuses. Design/methodology/approach - Bobby 3.1.1 was used to evaluate compliance with major accessible web design guidelines. In addition, key web pages were checked manually for the presence of skip-navigation components, and the sites' re-design status was ascertained. The results were presented in the form of basic descriptive statistics, including percentages of Bobby-approved pages and the average number of barriers per page. Correlations of the current accessibility data with older data sets and with library school ratings were also calculated. Findings - The results indicate that despite an increase in accessibility, only 50 to 60 per cent of the web sites were free of Bobby-detectable errors. Canadian sites were more accessible than US sites. Contrary to previous findings, recently redesigned sites tended to be more accessible. Highly ranked sites also tended to have higher accessibility scores. US sites showed a random-like up-and-down movement in accessibility status between 2002 and 2006. Research limitations/implications - The collected data reflect compliance with only a subset of accessible design principles. Practical implications - More education and continued advocacy is needed to increase web accessibility at libraries and library schools and to help establish library schools as models of program accessibility. Originality/value - This is the only study that provides trend information about the accessibility of a broader set of library and library school web sites.
NotesThis study focused on the web site accessibility for people with print disabilities in all 56 ALA-accredited library schools and their libraries. The web pages were evaluated by Bobby 3.1.1. Results showed that only 50 to 60 web pages were accessible according to Bobby 3.1.1 examination. Compared with previous results, it showed some increases. Moreover, U.S. web sites appeared to have lower accessibility as compared to Canadian web sites.
DOI10.1108/07378830110384584