teNDiNG A wilD GARDeN: liBRARY weB DesiGN FOR PeRsONs witH DisABilities | vANDeNBARK 23 R. Todd Vandenbark Tending a Wild Garden: Library Web Design for Persons with Disabilities Nearly one-fifth of Americans have some form of dis- ability, and accessibility guidelines and standards that apply to libraries are complicated, unclear, and difficult to achieve. Understanding how persons with disabilities access Web-based content is critical to accessible design. Recent research supports the use of a database-driven model for library Web development. Existing tech- nologies offer a variety of tools to meet disabled patrons’ needs, and resources exist to assist library professionals in obtaining and evaluating product accessibility infor- mation from vendors. Librarians in charge of technology can best serve these patrons by proactively updating and adapting services as assistive technologies improve. I n March 2007, eighty-two countries signed the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including Canada, the European Community, and the United States. The convention’s purpose was “to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.”1 Among the many proscriptions for assuring respect and equal treatment of people with disabilities (PWD) under the law, signatories agreed to take appropriate measures: (g) To promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technolo- gies and systems, including the Internet; and (h) To promote the design, development, production and distribution of accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost. In addition, the convention seeks to guarantee equal access to information by doing the following: (c) Urging private entities that provide services to the general public, including through the Internet, to provide information and services in accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities; and (d) Encouraging the mass media, including providers of information through the Internet, to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities.2 Because the Internet and its design standards are evolv- ing at a dizzying rate, it is difficult to create websites that are both cutting-edge and standards-compliant. This paper evaluates the challenge of Web design as it relates to individuals with disabilities, exploring current standards, and offering recommendations for accessible development. Examining the provision of IT for this demographic is vital because according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. public includes about 51.2 mil- lion noninstitutionalized people living with disabilities, 32.5 million of which are severely disabled. This means that nearly one-fifth of the U.S. public faces some physi- cal, mental, sensory, or other functional impairment (18 percent in 2002).3 Because a library’s mandate is to make its resources accessible to everyone, it is important to attend to the special challenges faced by patrons with disabilities and to offer appropriate services with those special needs in mind. n Current U.S. regulations, standards, and guidelines In 1990 Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the first comprehensive legislation mandating equal treatment under the law for PWD. The ADA pro- hibits discrimination against PWD in employment, public services, public accommodations, and in telecommunica- tions. Title II of the ADA mandates that all state govern- ments, local governments, and public agencies provide access for PWD to all of their activities, services, and programs. Since school, public, and academic libraries are under the purview of Title II, they must “furnish auxiliary aids and services when necessary to ensure effective com- munication.”4 Though predating widespread use of the Internet, the law’s intent points toward the adoption and adaptation of appropriate technologies to allow persons with a variety of disabilities to access electronic resources in a way that is most effective for them. Changes to Section 508 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act enacted in 1998 and 2000 introduced the first standards for “accessible information technology recognized by the federal government.”5 Many state and local govern- ments have since passed laws applying the standards of Section 508 to government agencies and related services. According to the Access Board, the independent federal agency charged with assuring compliance with a variety of laws regarding services to PWD, information and com- munication technology (ICT) includes any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information. The term electronic R. todd vandenbark (todd.vandenbark@utah.edu) is Web Ser- vices Librarian, Eccles health Sciences Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. 24 iNFORMAtiON tecHNOlOGY AND liBRARies | MARcH 2010 and information technology includes, but is not limited to, telecommunications products (such as telephones), information kiosks and transaction machines, World Wide Web sites, multimedia, and office equipment such as copiers and fax machines.6 The Access Board further specifies guidelines for “Web-based intranet and internet information and appli- cations,” which are directly relevant to the provision of such services in libraries.7 What follows is a detailed examination of these standards with examples to assist in understanding and implementation. (a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided. Assistive technology cannot yet describe what pictures and other images look like; they require meaningful text-based information asso- ciated with each picture. If an image directs the user to do something, the associated text must explain the purpose and meaning of the image. This way, someone who cannot see the screen can understand and navigate the page success- fully. This is generally accomplished by using the “alt” and “longdesc” attributes for images: “Short. However, these aids also can clutter a page when not used properly. The current versions of the most popular screen-reader software do not limit the amount of “alt” text they can read. However, Freedom Scientific’s JAWS 6.x divides the “alt” attribute into distinct chunks of 125 characters each (excluding spaces) and reads them separately as if they were separate graphics.8 This can be confusing to the end user. Longer con- tent can be put into a separate text file and the file linked to using the “longdesc” attribute. When a page contains audio or video files, a text alternative needs to be provided. For audio files such as inter- views, lectures, and podcasts, a link to a transcript of the audio file must be immediately available. For video clips such as those on YouTube, captions must accompany the clip. (b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presen- tation shall be synchronized with the presentation. This means that captions for video must be real-time and synchronized with the actions in the video, not contained solely in a separate transcript. (c) Web pages shall be designed so that all informa- tion conveyed with color is also available with- out color, for example from context or markup. While color can be used, it cannot be the sole source or indicator of information. Imagine an edu- cational website offering a story problem presented in black and green print, and the answer to the problem could be deciphered using only the green letters. This would be inaccessible to students who have certain forms of color-blindness as well as those who use screen-reader software. (d) Documents shall be organized so they are read- able without requiring an associated style sheet. The introduction of cascading style sheets (CSS) can improve accessibility because they allow the separation of presentation from content. However, not all browsers fully support CSS, so webpages need to be designed so any browser can read them accurately. The content needs to be organized so that it can be read and understood with CSS for- matting turned off. (e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map, and (f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape. An image map can be thought of as a geometri- cally defined and arranged group of links to other content on a site. A clickable map of the fifty U.S. states is an example of a functioning image map. A server-side image map would appear to a screen reader only as a set of coordinates, whereas client- side maps can include information about where the link leads through “alt” text. The best practice is to only use client-side image maps and make sure the “alt” text is descriptive and meaningful. (g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables, and (h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers. Correct table coding is critical. Each table should use the “table summary” attribute to provide a meaningful description of its content and arrange- ment: . Headers should be coded using the table header (“th”) tag, and its “scope” attri- bute should specify whether the header applies to a row or a column:
or . If the table’s content is complex, it may be necessary to provide an alternative presen- tation of the information. It is best to rely on CSS for page layout, taking into consideration the direc- tions in subparagraph (d) above. (i) Frames shall be titled with text that facili- tates frame identification and navigation. Frames are a deprecated feature of HTML, and their use should be avoided in favor of CSS layout. (j) Pages shall be designed to avoid caus- ing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. Lights with flicker rates in this range can trigger epileptic seizures. Blinking or flashing elements on teNDiNG A wilD GARDeN: liBRARY weB DesiGN FOR PeRsONs witH DisABilities | vANDeNBARK 25 a webpage should be avoided until browsers pro- vide the user with the ability to control flickering. (k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a Web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes. Complex content that is entirely visual in nature may require a separate text-only page, such as a page showing the English alphabet in American Sign Language. This requirement also serves as a stopgap measure for existing sites that require reworking for accessibility. Some consider this to be the Web’s version of separate-but-equal ser- vices, and should be avoided.9 Offering a text-only alternative site can increase the sense of exclusion that PWD already feel. Also, such versions of a website tend not to be equivalent to the parent site, leaving out promotions or advertisements. Finally, a text-only version increases the workload of Web development staff, making them more costly than creating a single, fully accessible site in the first place. (l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the informa- tion provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology. Scripting languages such as JavaScript allow for more interactive content on a page while reducing the number of times the computer screen needs to be refreshed. If functional text is not available, the screen reader attempts to read the script’s code, which outputs as a meaningless jumble of charac- ters. Using redundant text links avoids this result. (m) When a Web page requires that an applet, plug-in, or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with [Subpart B: technical standards] §1194.22(a) through (i). Web developers need to ascertain whether a given plug-in or applet is accessible before requiring their webpage’s visitors to use it. When using applications such as QuickTime or RealAudio, it is important to provide an accessible link on the same page that will allow users to install the necessary plug-in. (n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submis- sion of the form, including all directions and cues. If scripts used in the completion of the form are inaccessible, an alternative method of completing the form must be made immediately available. Each element of a form needs to be labeled prop- erly using the