Making Library Websites Accessible: A Practical Guide for Librarians

Intended by Francabandera (learning systems technology, Credo Education) to be a reference for professionals, this work briefly but competently covers auditory, visual, cognitive, motor, and social disabilities; the assistive technologies used by those who are disabled; and best practices for website development. Information on how to advocate with third-party vendors is particularly helpful, as many library resources are not home grown. There are only a few snippets of code in a section on HTML, so web development knowledge is not essential. The brevity of the discussion on ethics weakens the author's assertion that all librarians have an affirmative duty to provide all patrons, able or otherwise, with equitable access to digital resources and could have been omitted without undermining the overall utility of the resource. Lastly, some readers may balk at the inclusion of impoverished patrons, non-English speaking patrons, and those who live in rural environments as being "socially challenged" or "disabled."