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Accessibility in Libraries

Accessibility Support for Library Members & Staff

The American Library Association encourages members and library staff to create materials that are accessible for both library patrons and co-workers. The accessibility resources they provide cover accessible documents (in Word and PDFs), adding alternative text in different technology platforms, and testing the accessibility of the resources.

Creating Accessible Documents Webinar Recording

This recording of the Creating Accessible Documents webinar guides you through how to make an accessible Word document, including accessible tables, images, and document structure. The webinar includes demonstrations and examples of how you can start creating accessible documents.

Creating Accessible Documents Webinar Slides

The slides for the Creating Accessible Documents webinar are now available. Learn more about how to accessibly format your Word documents by using Styles.

Accessible library programming for kids and teens

The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) provides resources for libraries to create accessible programming for kids and teens. The resources include tips for making your programming inclusive, considerations about the physical spaces of your programming, and examples of accessible programming.

Social Story: Ready for Reading

The Toronto Public Library (TPL) presents a Social Story to help children become familiar with their library. Social Stories are learning tools for children that describe different experiences and situations they will encounter when visiting their public library. TPL suggests that parents or teachers read this story with their children one or more times before visiting the library to make them feel comfortable about their visit.

All about reading disabilities: how libraries can support readers with dyslexia

The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) provides content for people with print disabilities and has webinars for libraries and library staff to help them create accessible services and support the needs of their patrons with disabilities. This webinar explores how libraries can support readers with dyslexia.

Quick Reference: Accessibility 101 For Public Libraries

To get you started on your accessibility journey, we’ve summarized information from the Accessibility 101 webinar. The fact and links in this training resource will help you establish foundational knowledge that you can build on.

The 7 Principles of Universal Design

The National Disability Authority (NDA) is an Irish organization that works with the Irish Government on policies and practices relevant to the lives of persons with disabilities. The NDA promotes universal design and provides the 7 Principles of Universal Design to help ensure buildings, spaces, information, and products are accessible to all.

A11Y Project

This website provides a WCAG compliance checklist that you can use to evaluate your digital content and a very comprehensive list of resources relevant to digital accessibility. This is one of the broader resource lists available online, and they do a great job breaking them down into relevant categories.

Accessibility Auditing Resources

This document gathers links, citations, and other resources related to accessibility audits, technologies required for audits, and developers’ resources. The resources are sorted into different categories for ease of use.

Accessibility Interview Questions

Accessibility interview questions list potential job interview questions meant to gauge someone’s understanding of digital accessibility.

Android Accessibility Help

This resource provides a quick overview of accessibility settings that library staff can use on Android devices. It could be helpful for troubleshooting with a patron having issues with an Android device.

Apple Accessibility Support

A guide for some of the accessibility features available in Apple products, including VoiceOver, AssistiveTouch, Switch Control, Guided Access, and Voice Control. There is also a braille user guide for different types of apple devices.

AppleVis

AppleVis is an online resource for blind and low-vision users of Apple products such as the Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. The blog provides guides to various apps and software, reviews of the accessibility of Apple products, and a discussion forum and podcast.

Accessible Spaces 101

This course has been developed for many professionals interested in expanding their practical understanding of accessibility. Upon completion of Accessible Spaces 101, a digital badge is awarded that can be saved and shared.

Guidelines on Library and Information Services for People with Disabilities

This is a set of accessibility guidelines from 2016 written by the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA), in consultation with experts, for all Canadian libraries. This document is a good general outline of recommended accessible and inclusive service practices.

Digital Accessibility Courses & Accessibility Reference Library

Deque University provides an extensive curriculum of self-guided online courses so you can focus on the skills you need with the flexibility your schedule requires. Along with courses, this site also offers valuable resources such as guides to using screen readers, an ARIA JavaScript pattern library, and a page with a detailed breakdown of disability demographics.

Described and Captioned Media Program

The Described and Captioned Media Program is a free-loan library of accessible educational media for teachers and family members of K-12 students. The videos available range in subjects from Art History to Sports and Recreation.

Knowbility

Knowbility is a nonprofit organization with the mission of improving technology access for millions of youth and adults with disabilities all over the world. They provide several services, including accessibility testing, auditing, training, and a regularly updated comprehensive blog on web accessibility.

Neil Squire Society

Neils Squire Society is a comprehensive website that offers various services such as accessibility auditing, website and product testing, a service to help businesses develop an accessibility plan, an assistive technology help desk to assist users with their devices, and more.