Accessibility tools

One of the goals I have is making sure the site is accessible for people with disabilities.   As everyone knows ADA rules state that library buildings and services must meet the needs of all people.  For our buildings that means removing any architectural barriers that exist by installing handrails, ramps, accessible furniture , wheelchair accessible parking, restrooms etc….

In terms of websites we are also required to make them accessible to all people in accordance with section 508 standards. If you are interested in reading more I would suggest you take a look at Jim Thatcher’s site which provides a really nice overview and tutorial on how to ensure your site is accessible.

I just found Minow’s article which is dated but does remind me of the need to add descriptive text to all the alt tags.  WC3 provides a great list of evaluation tools.   I began by running the AccessKeys color tool to check the contrast between color brightness between text and background colors.   I thought we would pass 100% since the theme is black and white but the test showed that we need to change the light blue color we’re using for the heading tags.    I’ll be using this tool again.