LIS 724: Designing for Accessibility

                                                     Introduction

Everyone belongs at the library. Image source.

    Hello, blog readers! What you may or may not know about me, is that I am a university student studying to earn my Master’s in Library and Information Science degree, or MLIS for short, and that means I often reflect about what type of librarian I want to be after completing my education, what kind of institution and space I want to create for my future patrons, and what responsibilities entail in this profession. This week, I’ve been reflecting on the true meaning of providing accessibility within public spaces, such as school libraries and public libraries. You may be wondering at this point, Readers, “Isn’t ‘accessibility’ just being kind, helpful and a basic decent human being to other people with disabilities?” Well, while those are good, important things to consider, providing accessibility in public spaces go beyond just surface-level good deeds for other people in society.        

                                       What is Accessibility? 

Accessibility, in essence, is about institutions in society, their everyday resources and services being usable and safe for all people, including whether or not they have invisible or visible disabilities. Accessibility is about being more than being simply kind or thoughtful to the needs of others, its ensuring that public services are available, and furthermore, usable for people of all abilities, identities and backgrounds from all walks of life. As stated by the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials, “Accessibility is a simple concept in theory, but it can be complicated in practice. What is accessible to someone with a visual disability is not necessarily accessible to someone with a learning disability” (AEM Center, 2024). When discussing and integrating accessible features into our modern services, architecture, technology and reading materials, we need to ask questions such as “To whom is it accessible? Under what conditions? For which tasks?” (AEM Center, 2024). As someone myself with a vision disability, along with family members who have their own disabilities and as I am someone who is going into the librarian profession, I want to help ensure the further push for more accessible resource material and public services in our society’s library spaces.

                                iPads: Tools for Accessibility 

A great resource for providing accessibility to everyone can be found in through modern technology, in electronic devices such as in the case of Apple’s iPad tablets. iPads have made an incredibly positive impact in my personal life, helping me and my younger brother with our own disabilities, but iPads are an ever-growing, beneficial presence in libraries across society for a diversity of people. In accordance to statistics from the Pew Research Center’s 2016 survey on library usage and engagement, the organization’s researchers found that mobile devices played a vital role for patrons when visiting public library websites. “Half (49%) of those who have visited a public library website in the past year used handheld mobile devices (such as smartphones or tablets). That is largely unchanged since the spring of 2015, when 50% said this. But it is up from 2012, when 39% of library website users visited using handheld devices. Two-thirds of library visitors borrow print books; around half go to read, study or engage with media” (Pew Research Center, 2016). In a world that is constantly changing and evolving with each passing day, with technological developments making breakthroughs which benefit how electronic users interact with materials, services and the wider world around themselves, it is essential that librarians, provide electric tablets such as iPads within their institutions which continue to provide accessible library resources to patrons of all abilities, including visible and invisible disabilities, to ensure the preservation and perseverance of true equity, fairness, and inclusion for he wide spectrum of patrons who enter the library building or utilize their organization’s website sources.   

iPad Accessibility Features Poster. Image source: Personal Photos of Lizzy Prain, created via PowerPoint.

 Accessible Features of iPad Technology for Library Patrons

Text-to-Speech: An iPad feature which allows library patrons to turn their written text into spoken speech when interacting with others.

Screen-Reader: iPad feature reads text on screen back to patrons with vision limitations. 

Screen-Zoom: Double-tapping feature allows patrons to enlarge screen size to patron’s preference and comfort.

Dictation: Built-in microphone allows patrons to turn their speech into text.

Predictive Text: Keyboard allows patrons to complete sentences with less typing for ease of use.

Translator: iPad app which can translate highlighted text for preference and ease of the patron.

                                    Conclusion 

Blogging with the Belchers. Image source.

I am grateful for having the availability of iPads and other electronic devices. Without the accessible features of tablets, I and my loved ones with disabilities would have a much more limited way of interacting with the world around us. I am completely blind in one eye and have very limited vision in the other eye, but tablets with screen-enhancing touchscreens allow me to read for both school and recreation in a way that is comfortable for me. My little brother is autistic and non-verbal, but through using his iPad, he can communicate with our family as he types, while using pictures and videos. Through utilizing iPad features, we and countless other individuals with a variety of disabilities can reach above and beyond in ways that wouldn’t available only a few decades prior in terms of technological aids.  Incorporating electronic devices such as the iPads into school and public libraries is much more valuable than modernization of societal institutions or keeping up with trendy tech. By offering alternative resources such as electronic tablets in the library, librarians are recognizing the wide spectrum of wants, needs and interests of their patrons, accommodating people of all abilities, whether that includes visible or invisible disabilities. By increasing the availability and promotion of electronic devices, librarians are giving their patron more freedom of choice and say in how they interact with public services and resources on terms that are right for the individual patron.

                                                       Work cited

    “What Is Accessibility?” AEM Center, 12 Sept. 2023, aem.cast.org/get-started/defining-accessibility#:~:text=Accessible%20technologies%20are%20the%20hardware,everyone%20-%20they%20are%20universally%20designed.

    Horrigan, John B. “2. Library Usage and Engagement.” 

    Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 9 Sept. 2016, www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/09/09/library-usage-and-engagement/#:~:text=Half%20(49%25)%20of%20those,users%20visited%20using%20handheld%20devices.