Open AccessWeb Accessibility, Libraries, and the Law
Author(s) -
Camilla Fulton
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
information technology and libraries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.502
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 2163-5226
pISSN - 0730-9295
DOI - 10.6017/ital.v30i1.3043
Subject(s) - web accessibility , world wide web , statute , legislation , web standards , web accessibility initiative , context (archaeology) , computer science , internet privacy , web content , web page , web development , business , law , web application security , political science , geography , archaeology
With an abundance of library resources being served on the web, researchers are finding that disabled people oftentimes do not have the same level of access to materials as their nondisabled peers. This paper discusses web accessibility in the context of United States’ federal laws most referenced in web accessibility lawsuits. Additionally, it reveals which states have statutes that mirror federal web accessibility guidelines and to what extent. Interestingly, fewer than half of the states have adopted statutes addressing web accessibility, and fewer than half of these reference Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0. Regardless of sparse legislation surrounding web accessibility, librarians should consult the appropriate web accessibility resources to ensure that their specialized content reaches all