Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPAT) in Electronic Resources

Abstract

This article gives an overview of Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPAT) as a standard by which libraries can certify the resources they provide can be accessed by users who may suffer from physical disabilities and vision and other impairments. This article also outlines the standards that are crucial to making the implementation of VPAT work. Furthermore, several examples are provided of how librarians may encounter difficult issues in working with vendors and users who need to access information in their daily routines.

Keywords:

• Accessibility
• compliance
• electronic resources

Acknowledgments

Blinded

Notes

Notes

¹Suzanne L. Byerley, Mariyam Thohira, and Mary Beth Chambers, “Accessibility of Web-based Library Databases: The Vendors' Perspectives in 2007,” Library Hi Tech 25, no. 4 (2007): 509–27. doi:10.1108/07378830710840473.

²National Center on Universal Design for Learning, “What Is UDL? Universal Design for Learning,” http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl (accessed June 27, 2018).

³Laura DeLancey, “Assessing the Accuracy of Vendor-Supplied Accessibility Documentation,” Library Hi Tech 33, no. 1 (2015): 103–13.

⁴Diana K. Wakimoto and Aline Soules, “Evaluating Accessibility Features of Tutorial Creation Software,” Library Hi Tech 29, no. 1 (2011): 122–36.

⁵Andrew I. Hashey and Skip Stahl, “Making Online Learning Accessible for Students with Disabilities,” Teaching Exceptional Children 46, no. 5 (2014): 70–8, http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/1552688627?accountid=10639.

⁶Information Technology Industry Council, "VPAT, Information Technology Council, Policy – VPAT, https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat (accessed June 26, 2018).

⁷Peter Brophy and Jenny Craven, “Web Accessibility,” Library Trends 55, no. 4 (2007): 950–72, http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/220456200?accountid=10639.

⁸Jennifer Nastasia Tatomir and Joanna Catarina Tatomir, “Collection Accessibility: A Best Practices Guide for Libraries and Librarians,” Library Technology Reports 48, no. 7 (2012): 36–42.

⁹Cyndi Rowland, Heather Mariger, Peter M. Siegel, and Jonathan Whiting. "Universal Design for the Digital Environment: Transforming the Institution," Educause Review 45, no. 6 (2010).

¹⁰Norda Majekodunmi and Kelly Dermody, “Online Databases and the Research Experience for University Students with Print Disabilities,” Library Hi Tech 29, no. 1 (2011): 149–60, doi:10.1108/07378831111116976

¹¹Joanne Oud, “Accessibility of Vendor-Created Database Tutorials for People with Disabilities," Information Technology and Libraries (Online) 35, no. 4 (2016): 7.

¹²Katya Pereyaslavska and Corinne Abba, “Amplify Your Impact: Don't be a Reference ‘Tool’: How to Use Internal Marketing to Build Staff Competencies in the Age of Inclusive Libraries,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 55, no. 2 (2015): 102–8.

¹³Angela Dresselhaus, Expert on VPAT, edited by Jeffrey Coghill.

¹⁴Kyunghye Yoon, Laura Hulscher, and Rachel Dols. “Accessibility and Diversity in Library and Information Science: Inclusive Information Architecture for Library Websites,” The Library Quarterly 86, no. 2 (2016): 213–29, doi:10.1086/685399