What does it mean to have an accessible website? Why is it important?
“Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically, people can: perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web” – W3C
This is important to ensure equal access to information and equal ability to interact with websites and resources by eliminating barriers. For example, providing closed captioning/subtitles on videos for those who aren’t able to hear or including alternate text to describe an image helps those using screen readers.
Below are just a few introductory resources to start looking through and several webinars (upcoming and recorded) that may be useful.
Resources:
- Prioritizing Accessibility and Disability Inclusion at Your Library (WebJunction)
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview (W3C Initiative)
- WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) (WebAIM – University of Utah)
- Web Accessibility Guidelines (American Library Association)
- Libraries and Accessibility: Accessible Websites LibGuide (CT State Library)
- ARL Web Accessibility Toolkit (Association of Research Libraries)
Webinars:
- Oct. 23rd – Introduction to Website Accessibility (Infopeople)
- “In this one-hour webinar, you’ll gain an understanding of which guidelines are used to measure website accessibility in the United States, and how to being to evaluate your own library’s site for potential issues.”
- Archived – NCompass Live: Pretty Sweet Tech – Building a Clean, User-Friendly Library Website (Nebraska Library Commission)
- “Websites are often the first thing people see when interacting with a business. With so many things vying for people’s attention, the library website should be a call to action for people to use library services. This session will act as a guide to building a library website that makes a good impression on library customers.”
- Archived – Evaluating Websites for Accessibility (Great Lakes ADA Center/ADA National Network)
- “This introductory webinar will cover online barriers to accessibility and explain how to check that web content is accessible to all visitors”
For webinars and CE: If you would like to earn continuing education (CE) credit and are enrolled in the Nebraska Public Librarian Certification program, please submit a “CE Activity Report Form” after each webinar.
If you have any questions about continuing education, please contact Holli Duggan.
