Adaptive Technology for the Internet: Making Electronic Resources Accessible for All

Citation

Tedd, L.A. (2002), "Adaptive Technology for the Internet: Making Electronic Resources Accessible for All", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 211-212. https://doi.org/10.1108/prog.2002.36.3.211.6

Library and information providers in many parts of the world are facing up to the challenge of providing electronic information services for all their users.... including those that have some form of disability. In some instances this is in response to the passing of various laws. For instance, in the UK, the 1996 Disability Discrimination Act and its various amendments mean that by 2004 there will be many legally binding requirements related to the provision of electronic information services (amongst others) that will impact upon libraries and information providers. The Act defines a disability as a “physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long‐term effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day‐to‐day activities”. This includes deaf, blind, partially sighted people and people with what are commonly known as learning disabilities. A disabled person who feels that they have been discriminated against can go to the courts of law and can seek compensation. Therefore many libraries have begun to change policies, practices or procedures to enable their disabled users to gain appropriate access to their electronic resources. In the USA there has been comparable legislation – the Americans with Disabilities Act – and I have visited libraries in Poland, Malaysia and Australia which are also addressing this question.

An important development in raising awareness of access to electronic information sources has been the work of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the setting up, in 1997, of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The WAI is involved in promoting ways in which people with disabilities can access information on the Web. As Tim Berners‐Lee (the inventor of the Web and the Director of W3C) has stated “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect” (see http://www.w3.org/WAI/). The W3C works closely with organisations such as the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) in the UK and the World Blind Union and undertakes work in five main areas: technology; guidelines; tools; education and outreach; research and development.

Adapative Technology for the Internet: Making Electronic Resources Accessible for All aims to “guide information providers in establishing accessible Web sites and acquiring the hardware and software needed by people with disabilities”. In the glossary of about 70 terms adaptive technology is defined as being “a wide variety of electronic items that enable an even wider variety of people with disabilities to live independently. Many of the devices are based on computer technology.” The book’s main author, Barbara Mates, is the head of the Cleveland Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped which is part of the Cleveland Public Library in the USA. She has much experience in this area and, as she notes in the preface to this book, “… I see a growing need for computer access by the population we serve. More patrons are acquiring adaptive technology for home use and are anxious to ‘get on the information highway’.” Other patrons, curious about the Internet but lacking funds to purchase their own equipment, are seeking public environments to access the Internet. There are also two other named contributors to this work – Judith Dixon and Doug Wakefield. Dixon is Consumer Relations officer at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress which provides Braille and recorded reading material to blind and physically handicapped Americans. Wakefield is an “accessibility specialist” with the US Access Board – a federal agency committed to accessible design (see http://www.access‐board.gov/) and has been responsible for the development of standards for using IT to satisfy the requirements of the US Rehabilitation Act. So, it can be seen that the authors of this work have extensive and practical experience in the provision of electronic information services to users with a range of disabilities. Since none of the chapters are assigned specific authorship it must be assumed that they have all contributed to/commented on the various chapters.

So, what does the work comprise? There are 12 chapters. The first, “Could Helen Keller use your library?”, provides an overview of some of the accessibility solutions that are discussed later in the book and has a useful table outlining the particular solutions that could be used for particular disabilities. Helen Keller was an American (born 1880) who became both blind and deaf and about whom there have been various books written and a film made. If you are interested further a brief factsheet is available at: www.rnib.org.uk/wesupply/fctsheet/keller.htm. The next seven chapters cover specific issues such as: basic document design; large‐print access to the Internet; hearing the Internet; touching the Internet with Braille; adaptive technology for hearing impairments; use of various keyboards; and “stand‐alone” systems for reading and speaking. The final four chapters cover management issues such as: funding adaptive technology; staff training; marketing of services; and some useful and interesting case studies. The final 50 pages or so of the book comprise a number of appendages: an annotated list of about 90 relevant Web sites helpful for information on accessibility; an annotated list of about 60 selected vendors, manufacturers and consultants; a standardised description (using the headings background, population served, adaptive equipment, usage, expenditures, funding source, development time, staff training, Web site design and other comments) of six special libraries with adaptive technology programmes; the glossary and an index.

The book is written by Americans, the appendices refer mainly to North American equipment suppliers, North American libraries etc. and so should I suggest that is of relevance to those in other parts of the world? The answer is yes … it provides a highly readable overview of the various issues as well as useful links to further information sources and handy descriptions of how other libraries have tackled these issues. Since the needs of disabled users are not constrained by political boundaries, readers from libraries and information services in other countries can learn much from this useful text about possible solutions to the challenge of providing access to electronic information resources for all their users.

Other items received

Notes by the Reviews Editor

(This section contains notes on works (e.g. directories, short publications and select product guides) for which a full review is considered to be inappropriate. This is not to suggest, however, that such works are regarded as ephemeral or unimportant.)