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LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS

Accessibility Is in the Eye of the 
Beholder:
Creating a More Accessible Library
Kenneth D. Litwak, Gateway Seminary

ABSTR AC T According to the U.S. National Center for Education 
Statistics, 19% of undergraduates report having a disability. Many of 
these students access our libraries in person or online. While theo-
logical and academic librarians recognize the need to accommodate 
people with disabilities, librarians without disabilities might not 
be aware of ways in which their library places obstacles in the way 
of those with disabilities, such as computers that cannot have the 
font color or size changed or steps but no ramps for wheelchairs. 
This essay describes issues for patrons with disabilities in accessing 
library services and resources. There are several ways to improve 
the accessibility of libraries. This essay highlights challenges for 
those with visual, auditory, and mobility disabilities and describes 
ways to address these challenges and thus give those with disabili-
ties a more equitable, inclusive library experience.

THE BASIC PROBLEM

Many of the students who would benefit from using the library at 
their college, university, or seminary have one or more disabilities. 
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 19% of 
undergraduates report having a disability. Twelve percent of gradu-
ate students have reported having a disability (NCES, 2019). Librar-



180  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

ians seek to serve all patrons. However, some of those patrons need 
accommodations in order to use a library’s services and resources. 
Many patrons at academic and theological higher educational insti-
tutions have disabilities. Some are apparent, such as visual impair-
ment or mobility problems as evidenced by a patron’s wheelchair. 
There are other sorts of disability, many “invisible,” but this essay 
deals with apparent disabilities, those that can be seen or readily 
perceived. There are several challenges for patrons with disabilities. 
There are two approaches to describing such individuals: a disabled 
person or a person with a disability. This essay uses and recommends 
the latter, since “a disabled person” defines someone by her disabil-
ity, which is not the most important feature of the person. We do not 
want to treat people as a problem to solve but a person whom we 
can help. 

Those without disabilities might not “see” the (unintentional) 
challenges the library presents. For example, if the instructions on 
the copier are in 10-point Times New Roman, some patrons will 
have difficulty reading them. The same holds true for signage with 
relatively small fonts, including directional signs and call number 
ranges on the ends of shelving. Some patrons may have difficulty in 
moving compact shelving. Those without any physical or sensory 
challenges might not see these things as problems, but for patrons 
with specific disabilities, these are major obstacles.

A second problem is that patrons with disabilities may be uncom-
fortable disclosing their disability to a librarian who does not have 
one. Disclosure can be difficult enough. If the library staff does not 
know that an accommodation or service is needed, it will not offer 
the accommodation. Or, a service or accommodation does exist, 
such as a library computer with a screen reader, but there is noth-
ing indicating the existence of this computer for those with visual 
impairments or blindness. Here are some specific types of problems 
by the type of the disability.

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND BLINDNESS

Many people have visual impairments, such as having significant 
near-sightedness that cannot be readily corrected, or blindness. 
Below are some challenges for individuals with such conditions.



Listen and Learn Sessions  181

Difficulty Accessing or Configuring Computers
If the monitor is too far away from the front of the piece of furniture 
it is on, or the settings, such as font and mouse pointer size, are too 
small and not adjustable, a library computer can be inaccessible to 
some patrons with a visual impairment. I have a significant visual 
impairment. While attending a conference at a Christian univer-
sity, I attempted to use a library computer to check email. I did not 
succeed. First, the monitor was at least eighteen inches back from the 
edge of the desk it was on. It was bolted in place for security. Due to 
this, I had to stand up and lean far over the desk to read the screen 
at all. Second, the font size for text appeared small, too small for me 
to read, even with high-powered reading glasses. The mouse pointer 
was also quite small. The computer had been configured to prevent 
any changes at all. I could not increase the font size or change the 
mouse pointer. Therefore, I left the library after being unable to 
complete my task. The configuration of the computer may have been 
fine for someone with “average” eyesight, but it was not accessible 
for someone like me. 

20/20 Vision Is Assumed
This relates to the issues above about being able to configure a 
computer screen, but it also relates to other areas. Handouts, equip-
ment instructions, and signage are a challenge for someone with a 
visual impairment, and these items are often not machine-readable, 
while most patrons have no trouble with instructions or handouts 
that use a 10-pt. Times New Roman font. Even if one had the equip-
ment to read a document, if it is not OCR-compliant, various tools 
are not going to be able to read it. One could also ask: Why are call 
number ranges put at the top of shelving? That is another issue for 
those with visual impairments. It can seem like many resources in 
the library are actually an eyesight test. Hanging signs from the ceil-
ing can be difficult to read as well. It is fine to have a hanging sign, 
but the font should be larger than the “average” patron can read.

No Screen Magnifiers or Readers
There are several tools, like NVDA, that can be used to make what is 
on the screen larger, and some can read what is on the screen, such 
as JAWS. However, many academic and theological libraries do not 
have this sort of software, because no one has thought about it being 
necessary for some patrons. These tools can greatly help patrons 



182  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

with vision problems but they are often not available. When they are, 
it is not always obvious which computers have this software. Even 
when there is a computer with a screen reader, blind users without 
essential knowledge may have difficulty using the software, and it is 
often the case that librarians are not sufficiently trained in assistive 
technology to help such patrons. Other webpage issues are related 
to navigation. The ubiquitous three dots that represent menus might 
not have alt-text. A screen reader like JAWS won’t know what to do 
with a column of dots. 

Web Pages Are Inaccessible
Many library websites have images. Those images often have no 
alt-text and therefore a blind user only gets to know that an image 
is there. For her, that image is meaningless. Mulliken states that 
for those using screen readers, “Pages with a very large amount of 
content, such as many library and vendor pages, can be particularly 
overwhelming, especially if not coded with logically placed headings 
and other features to allow a sensible navigational path for blind 
users” (Mulliken, 2017, 117).

PDF Files Are Not Machine-Readable
Libraries create PDF files regularly. At Gateway Seminary, like many 
schools, books and journal articles are scanned or copied and the 
resulting PDF files are sent to patrons. What if a patron needs the 
PDF file to be machine-readable for his software? PDF files are an 
accessibility challenge.

Lack of Vendor Support for the Print-Disabled
While not everyone who is print-disabled has a visual impairment, 
the lack of vendor support for those who are print-disabled is an 
issue. If someone cannot use printed materials, a library without soft-
ware to read the text to the patron will not meet the patron’s needs. 
One area this affects is e-books. If a patron can see the book on the 
screen but cannot readily read it or scroll or move the text around 
by mouse or keyboard, it will be difficult for this person to use this 
resource. While some vendors, such as JSTOR, provide text-to-speech 
tools, other vendors, such as ProQuest Ebook Central, provide no 
such tools. This is an issue for both those who are visually impaired 
and those who are print-disabled for other reasons.



Listen and Learn Sessions  183

Stairs Not Clearly Marked
If you have ever tripped on stairs because you missed one or did not 
step on one adequately, it is not hard to understand the potential 
injury that a lack of good depth perception could cause a patron on 
stairs. The problem is that if a person cannot tell how far down the 
next step is, she might miss the step or fall on to the next step too hard. 

AUDITORY DIFFICULTIES

Those with hearing problems also encounter difficulties in the library. 

Cannot Hear Video Tutorials
That tutorial, which took many hours to record and edit, will be of 
limited value to someone who cannot hear the narration. Typically, 
video tutorials on library websites do not offer closed captioning. 
They tend to lack transcripts of tutorials as well. With no written 
script or captioning, video tutorials are generally unhelpful to those 
with limited hearing.

Instruction with No Written Content and No Sign-Language 
Interpreter
The same problem presented by video tutorials that have no captions 
or transcripts is present for live information literacy instruction. 
The content may be excellent but without some way to know what 
was said, it will be difficult for someone who is hearing-impaired or 
deaf to gain much from the ILI session. The patron with the audi-
tory disability may know sign language. If there is no one present to 
offer the instruction in sign language, this will be another lost oppor-
tunity to offer instruction to all patrons. If written material or sign 
language is available, a patron might not know about it or think to 
ask about it. Instead, he will simply skip the instruction, no matter 
how much it is needed.

Lack of Braille Labels
Another challenge for blind patrons is a lack of Braille signs or iden-
tifiers, such as for elevator buttons. This is unique to someone who 
is blind or has severely limited eyesight. However, we do not want 
to leave anyone out because their disability is not common among 
our patrons.



184  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

MOBILITY DISABILITIES

Other challenges are faced by those with mobility issues. This could 
include the use of a wheelchair or walker, inability to stand on a stool 
to get a book of the high, top shelf, or other obstacles.

Lack of Ramps
Those using wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches, or with some sort 
of brace on a leg, will likely have difficulty going up or down stairs. 
This is different from the lack of clearly marked stair edges. It is the 
fact that wheelchairs cannot go up or down stairs. Some libraries 
have elevators that can reach every floor. Others have ramps that 
those with mobility issues can use to go up or down.  However, some 
libraries have places where there is no way to go up or down except 
by using stairs.

Stacks Are Too Tall to Reach Top Shelves from a Wheelchair
The stacks are often quite tall. Someone in a wheelchair or with other 
mobility issues might not be able to reach the top shelf/shelves. I was 
impressed when I went to the James L. Stamps Theological Library at 
Azusa Pacific University. Most of the reference books were in short 
shelving units with only two shelves. One could put a laptop on top 
of the shelving units, find a reference book in the catalog, and easily 
reach the book. Some libraries might not have space for such shelv-
ing, but it is a great accommodation for many people with mobility 
disabilities or visual impairment.  

Compact Shelving May Be Difficult to Move
Many libraries use compact shelving to save space. It seems like a 
good idea, as long as one is able to operate it. When Gateway Semi-
nary was in northern California as Golden Gate Baptist Theologi-
cal Seminary, many books and almost all the periodicals were in 
compact shelving. The shelving units used mechanical means to 
move the shelves. One touched a button on the desired shelving unit, 
and all the shelving units in the way of it moving were moved by the 
system. Gateway Seminary’s Ontario Library does not have this sort 
of compact shelving. It is necessary to use handles to move shelv-
ing. This is not too difficult with one arm to move one shelf. Moving 
multiple shelves is another matter. It can take significant effort to 
move multiple shelving units. If one cannot use their arms or hands 



Listen and Learn Sessions  185

to accomplish this, the patron will be unable to access any books on 
the shelves. The only way to solve this would be for the patron to 
go to the library circulation desk, which is one floor up, and ask for 
help. Compact shelving is a fine idea. It does conserve space. Unfortu-
nately, some patrons will not be able to use it. While some academic 
libraries have a “call” system to get help in retrieving books from a 
high shelf or other locations that are hard for some to access, not all 
libraries do. This may be particularly an issue for small seminary 
libraries that have a small staff. 

LACK OF INFORMATION ON ACCESSIBILITY AND 
ACCOMMODATIONS

Patrons with disabilities want to know the sorts of accommodations 
available at the physical library. Amelia Brunskill presented survey 
results for students with disabilities who said that without a page 
on a library website that lists accommodations and other ways the 
library is accessible for all, these students would simply not go to 
the library. As noted near the beginning of this essay, many patrons 
with disabilities do not wish to disclose their disabilities to a librar-
ian who does not have any disabilities. Instead, they want to find out 
information on accessibility on the library website. Brunskill inter-
viewed twelve students with disabilities about “their perspectives 
on navigation, search terms, organization, desired content, and the 
overall look and feel for such a webpage” (Brunskill, 2020, 768). Many 
libraries do not have this information on a webpage, even if they 
have accommodations for students. This apparently communicates 
to students that a given library does not provide accommodations.

MAKING LIBRARIES MORE ACCESSIBLE

In order to deal with these issues and more, librarians will need 
to take an active part in making libraries more accessible. First, 
however, we need to answer the question: Why make accommoda-
tions in the library, both physically and digitally?

Serve Patrons
Our profession and all the individual librarians I have interacted 
with seek to serve patrons. To borrow from an old sci-fi television 
series, “It’s what I do.” While there has been significant emphasis 



186  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

rightly placed on serving racial and ethnic minorities, people with 
disabilities also deserve equity and inclusion in library services and 
use of resources.

Worldview
Another answer to the “why” question comes from one’s world-
view. Should everyone get equal treatment? I work at an Evangelical 
seminary and loving the neighbor by serving them is a theological 
imperative. Many other worldviews would also consider helping 
others part of living out the worldview, such as Islam and Judaism. 
It does not require a religious perspective to be concerned about 
those with disabilities. Many with humanist worldviews take care 
of people on the margins.  

Legal Issues
Within the U.S. and Canada, libraries are expected to assist patrons 
with accommodations. In the U.S., most academic libraries must 
comply with Section 508 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
In California, there are even more laws regarding accessibility, as 
there are in many other states. Many academic institutions have 
had to pay out settlements from lawsuits over violating these laws. 
Therefore, it makes good fiscal sense, among other reasons, to seek 
to comply with them.

GENERAL APPROACH

Before describing approaches for addressing accessibility issues, 
there are general principles to guide a library. 

Make Accessibility Part of Planning
Most of the accessibility issues already exist in libraries. When new 
technology or new instructional approaches or new library spaces 
are being considered, it is valuable to avoid problems by planning 
for accessibility and making it a high priority in the decision-making 
process.

Audit the Environment
To determine what needs to be addressed, a library can do an audit 
of its own environment, practices, equipment, and other tools. There 



Listen and Learn Sessions  187

are checklists to help a library perform an audit. There are also tools 
for auditing the library’s website. Patrons with disabilities should be 
included in the discussion as they know better than anyone else what 
they need and wish for. When accommodations are made, asking 
(or bribing) these patrons to test the accommodations is important. I 
worked as a computer programmer for many years and taught soft-
ware testing. One important element is that testing for the expected 
use of the software is not sufficient. It needs to be tested by experi-
enced people who will put the software through its paces and go far 
beyond the “normal” use of a program. It’s also important to devise 
tests for unexpected actions by those who do not understand what 
they are supposed to do. Likewise, having librarians without impair-
ments test accommodations, like using a screen reader to perform a 
search or go up a ramp to the circulation desk is not sufficient. The 

“expert” users who really need the accommodations need to partici-
pate in evaluating them. The feedback from those with disabilities 
can be invaluable in determining if a library’s accommodations 
make any meaningful difference. 

Many academic libraries have already taken steps to make the 
library physically and digitally more accessible. This essay is not a 
blanket condemnation of all academic libraries. At other libraries, 
there are many opportunities to provide accommodations. Below are 
suggestions for making a library accessible that mirror the problem 
areas described above. Some of these items will be “free” in that no 
money or little effort is required to make the accommodation. Other 
items may cost more.  Libraries at schools with an office for disabled 
students may be able to get help from there to defray costs.

MAKING COMPUTERS MORE ACCESSIBLE

An accessible workstation will provide easy access for wheelchair 
users. It may be fine to put computers and chairs relatively close 
together, but there needs to be a workstation that has space for a 
patron in a wheelchair to access it. It must be possible to config-
ure a workstation completely, making the font bigger, making the 
contrast higher or lower, and changing the resolution of the monitor. 
My choice on MS Windows 10 is a medium resolution, 1680 x 1050. 
Selecting the lowest possible resolution, depending upon the moni-
tor size, can result in large, black, vertical “bars” on both sides of the 
screen. This is wasted screen real estate.  I am not a Mac user, but I 



188  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

have seen a user make the content of the screen denser. It is a retina 
setting. When I am trying to make what is on the screen larger, the 
last thing I want to do is waste two to four inches on the sides. 

In Windows 10, the size of text displayed by the system in some 
contexts can be altered, such as making it 125% of the default. This 
may make text easier for some to see, but it does have a downside in 
that it can result in text being cut off. However, I have not had any 
problems with 125%.  

Colors are also important. Be careful using colors on library pages 
that might not be visible to someone who is color-blind. Having 
too many bright colors can be an issue for some. It is a matter of 
taste whether a user with visual impairment wants black text on a 
white background or white text on a black background. Being able 
to change the text and background color can be very helpful. 

The mouse pointer can be an issue too. Having a significant visual 
impairment, I cannot count all the time I have wasted trying to find 
a tiny mouse pointer.  It would help if the pointer was a more obvi-
ous color, like yellow or neon orange. It can also be helpful, again on 
Windows, to set the mouse pointer to be dark on light backgrounds 
and light on dark backgrounds.

Enabling patrons to change all these settings is not a problem. A 
Windows computer can be put into “deep freeze.” A patron can log in, 
make all the changes that she wants, and when she logs out or times 
out, the computer display will go back to the default chosen for all the 
library computers. I first encountered this at Azusa Pacific University, 
where I was an adjunct reference librarian. I could change a display 
to suit my needs but upon logging off, the workstation returned to its 
default. There was no need to worry if a patron modified the configu-
ration significantly. The computers were very accessible.

Screen magnifiers and readers are also important tools for those 
with visual impairments or blindness.  There are multiple ways to 
magnify the screen. It is possible to put a cover over the front of the 
monitor that can enlarge what is on the screen. Better is using screen 
magnifier software. Again, speaking within an MS Windows 10 
context, there is a Magnifier utility. In previous versions of Windows, 
the magnifier provided a horizontal “slice” of the screen where the 
mouse pointer was. This was difficult to use. Now, the magnifier 
can be set to magnify the entire screen. The magnification is easily 
adjustable. There are other screen magnifier programs, such as 
NVDA and the far more expensive ZoomText. It is also important to 



Listen and Learn Sessions  189

provide screen readers for those with visual impairments or blind-
ness. JAWS is a common screen reader. It can identify buttons, drop-
down lists, etc. that have alt-text. It can also read text on the screen.  
ZoomText, which I have used for years, can also read the text on the 
screen, though it does not “read” buttons or other controls. Such 
tools are a great relief for those with visual impairments. It reduces 
eye strain and having to lean over the keyboard to read the screen, 
which can literally be a pain in the neck. The options vary widely in 
price. For those who use mobile devices, there are phone apps that 
can read the screen. 

It is essential that a patron can interact with the computer by the 
keyboard or the mouse. There is no guarantee that a patron with 
disabilities will be able to use the mouse, the common tool for select-
ing buttons and other controls. In addition, a touch screen can be 
helpful, not only to those with mobility disabilities but those with 
a common condition from computer use, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. 
This can make moving the mouse very painful. Being able to click 
a button or select something on the screen by touch, or using the 
touch on-screen keyboard, can be great assistance for some patrons.

Using text-to-speech tools in the library makes it mandatory to 
have headphones available to avoid disturbing other patrons. For 
some patrons, it would be very helpful to have speech-to-text tools 
for input purposes, such as Nuance’s Dragon Naturally Speaking, 
though there may be licensing issues with it on a publicly available 
computer.  

Finally, when it comes to assistive technology, it is not necessar-
ily true that if we build it, patrons with disabilities will use it. It is 
essential that such workstations be well advertised. Patrons need to 
be able to find out easily that a computer with one or more of these 
accommodations exists. It is also important to make sure that all the 
librarians know about which assistive technology is available and 
how to use it. If a patron comes to the library who would benefit from 
a screen reader but does not know how to use one, it will be up to 
the librarians to teach him. 



190  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

ADDRESSING ISSUES FOR THOSE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT OR 
BLINDNESS

 There are several steps that a library can take to help patrons with 
visual impairments or blindness. Here are some important ways to 
accomplish this goal.

Accessible Signage
All signage needs to be in large print. This applies to everything 

from an accessible workstation with a screen reader to a photocopier 
or printer. Good options can be 28, 32, 36, and other font sizes. It does 
not matter if the typical patron can read 10-pt. Times New Roman 
easily; those with visual impairments often find small fonts like that 
difficult if not impossible to read. Our goal is to remove all the obsta-
cles to patrons accessing our services and resources, which means 
that librarians are not the primary audience for signage. If a student 
has to look really close to instructions to use a scanner, and needs 
to provide her own technology to magnify, we have, I would assert, 
failed that student. Patrons with disabilities should not need to bring 
any special tools to the library that those without disabilities do not 
need to bring. I have brought such tools to academic and theologi-
cal libraries, and each experience reminds me that the environment 
and resources were designed for an exclusive group of patrons to 
which I do not belong. We do not want any patron to feel that way.

We could debate all day about which font is the best. When it 
comes to making accommodations, “best” is a very relative term.  In 
addition to size, most users with visual impairments find the serifs 
difficult to read. I find it harder to distinguish characters in Times 
New Roman than in Arial. In creating LibGuides, I use Verdana 14 
pt.  This is an exception to the idea of not using a serif font. However, 
Verdana is a very large font. I do not want to have to squint at a sign 
or web page. There is no need for that when larger fonts and fonts 
with large sizes are readily available. Also, using a sans-serif font is 
no guarantee of being readable by all. Calibri is a sans-serif font but 
the characters are much smaller than, say, Arial.

Assume that the library has made sure its signage and instruc-
tions are in a large, easily readable font. That does not mean that 
someone who is significantly nearsighted can read it when the sign 
hangs from the ceiling and is ten feet above the floor. Certainly, 
signage should be visible to all, but it can do that and be at eye level. 



Listen and Learn Sessions  191

Deciding what eye level would mean at a given library cannot be 
specified in this article but it is most definitely not at the eye level 
of most NBA stars. 

Instructions and handouts face the same need for easily readable 
fonts. These may be eye-level but hard to read. Be careful if some-
thing uses color that there is not a background color that makes 
text hard to read. It is not hard to find such things. I have even seen 
this problem in a commentary series that provides notes in the side 
margin in orange on a white background. That is not an accessible 
approach. Likewise, all instructions should be in large print and 
OCR-readable. PDF files also need to be accessible. This is a difficult 
issue. In my library, we can achieve that by telling the book scanner 
to produce black-and-white PDF files only. That usually generates 
machine-readable documents. The screen reader will not help a 
patron if a PDF file is essentially an image.

Stairs need to have the edges marked. Anyone who lacks full use 
of both eyes will have difficulty with proper depth perception. For 
myself, I can see the edges of stairs and see how tall a stair is when 
I am facing it and walking up. When walking down, I cannot do 
that. This is one of the simple, nearly free steps a library can take. 
Whether a library uses black, high-viz orange or black and yellow 
stripped tape, many patrons may benefit by a library marking the 
edges of steps.

ADDRESSING ISSUES FOR AUDITORY DISABILITIES

There are two main areas of concern for those with auditory disabili-
ties.

Video Tutorials
As described above, having difficulty hearing or being deaf can make 
the best video tutorial nearly useless. The patron needs to know what 
the video narrator is saying. This can be addressed in two ways, and 
doing both is helpful. All video tutorials need to have closed caption-
ing. This has some complexity. In Camtasia, there are two choices. 
A video can have optional closed captioning if additional files are 
uploaded with the video file itself. This may work on a library’s web 
server but it will be a problem to upload additional files on websites 
such as Vimeo and YouTube. The second choice it to have Camta-
sia burn in the captioning. This makes the captions show up for 



192  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

everyone. This can be good, since multiple paths for input can often 
improve retention. Captions can help if a person can hear all that is 
said but not all the words are enunciated adequately. Camtasia can 
take recorded audio and automatically turn it into captions but the 
results I have had are rather poor. One solution for this is to create 
audio transcripts. There needs to be an audio transcript of the tuto-
rial. The transcript can be used to build captions for the video. The 
transcript provides a description of the steps to perform whatever 
the tutorial was about. This can be useful to both those who could 
not hear the video and anyone else who wants instructions for tasks 
like searching the catalog or requesting ILL materials. For live video 
presentations, there are services that provide instant captioning. Atla 
used that for the 2021 annual conference. Companies such as Verbit 
provide such services.

Live Instruction
When offering instruction, such as information literacy instruction, 
it is important to include all potential patrons. Live instruction faces 
some of the same issues as accommodating those with visual impair-
ment or auditory disabilities. It is possible with the right software to 
display instant captions. That will help those who cannot hear the 
presenter. For the session a librarian does over and over, an audio 
transcript would be helpful. The patron who cannot hear can use 
the transcript to know what is being said. That patron, along with 
everyone else, will have the contents of the instructions regardless 
of whether the audience takes notes or not. Another option would 
be for the library to provide someone who can use sign language to 
communicate with those who have auditory challenges.

ADDRESSING ISSUES RELATED TO MOBILITY DISABILITIES

For those who use wheelchairs, walkers, or other aids for walking, 
providing ramps to use instead of stairs is vital. Otherwise, many 
library resources and services may be inaccessible to these patrons. 
As our goal is to provide service and resources to all, practicing equity 
and inclusion, providing ramps is an obvious means of providing 
accommodations for such patrons.  

For these and other patrons with mobility issues or other factors, 
the stacks need to be made more accessible. The call numbers should 
be at eye level like other signage.  Short shelving is also important. 



Listen and Learn Sessions  193

This enables all patrons, including those in wheelchairs or of moder-
ate height, to access resources off the shelf easily. This is impor-
tant because, as noted above, many with disabilities do not want to 
disclose them or ask for “special” help. They want to be able access 
resources on their own. This also implies that compact shelving 
must be addressed. This might be a rather expensive recommenda-
tion, but installing compact shelving that uses push buttons for the 
shelving units to be moved mechanically, without having to turn a 
crank, is important. 

BUILDING ACCESSIBLE WEBSITES

Since the library website is the key way that patrons interact with 
the library’s services and resources, it must be accessible. There are 
tools to audit and describe how accessible a library’s website is. For 
example, Axe from Deque or Wave are tools for testing a website’s 
accessibility. The Digital Library Federation, DLF, also provides infor-
mation and resources on auditing a library’s website (DLF, 2021). 

There is a group within the W3C for digital accessibility that has 
produced the widely accepted standard WCAG. It is currently at the 
2.1 level, but by the time this is published, it will likely be at 2.2. There 
are varying levels of compliance. There is basic compliance that most 
websites can meet. On the other hand, implementing everything in 
WCAG 2.2 will be very challenging. WCAG addresses colors, fonts, 
controls, text, navigation, and more. Academic libraries should adopt 
WCAG 2.x and aim to be in compliance.

As suggested earlier, images, drawings, and controls such as 
buttons and drop-down lists need alt-text for screen readers to 
understand them. This should also apply to instruction.  I have 
helped a blind student at our seminary who took a course in which 
the professor used lots of maps and images. These were unhelpful to 
her, as one could guess. Liaison librarians might reach out to faculty 
and raise this subject.

Some web pages are loaded with content. There are lots of buttons, 
sliders, and menus. There are also lots of images. These might make 
for cool-looking websites but they are not very accessible. As already 
noted, many of these cannot be processed by a screen reader, and 
having a lot of content can overwhelm a patron who has to use a 
screen reader to learn what is on the page.



194  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

If the library has taken steps to provide accommodations, it needs 
to make these known on an accessibility information page on its 
website. As noted in Brunskill’s study, many students with disabili-
ties will not go to the library that does not provide such a page. It 
would be unfortunate if a library created accommodations only to 
have the patrons for whom the accommodations were done stay 
home, because they were unaware that someone was available to 
get books off of high shelves or that a computer had a screen reader 
and was configurable by the user.

CONCLUSION

Many obstacles stand in the way of people with visual, auditory, and 
mobility disabilities. There are also many steps academic and theo-
logical libraries can take to ameliorate these obstacles and make both 
their environment and website more accessible. Providing accom-
modations is the right thing to do because we want to serve patrons 
and avoid lawsuits. Libraries can audit their environment and their 
website. They can make signage easier to read, and they can make 
instructions, handouts, and PDF files more accessible by making 
them OCR-accessible. They can provide captioning for all video tuto-
rials and audio transcripts for videos and live instruction. They can 
make sure that the library’s website is in at least basic compliance 
with WCAG 2.1 and that the site has an accessibility information page. 
While free items that can be implemented are low-hanging fruit to 
work on first, the website is probably the most important, as it is the 
main way that patrons interact with libraries. Some libraries have 
made great strides in making themselves more accessible. Hopefully, 
other libraries will “go and do likewise.”

REFERENCE LIST

Brunskill, Amelia. 2020. “‘Without That Detail, I’m Not Coming’: 
The Perspectives of Students with Disabilities on Accessibility 
Information Provided on Academic Library Websites.” College 
& Research Libraries 81 (5): 768–88. https://doi.org/10.5860/
crl.81.5.768.



Listen and Learn Sessions  195

Digital Library Federation. 2021. “Accessibility Auditing Resources 
Accessibility Auditing Resources.” DLF Wiki. https://wiki.diglib.
org/Accessibility_Auditing_Resources.

Mulliken, Adina. 2019. “Eighteen Blind Library Users’ Experiences 
with Library Websites and Search Tools in U.S. Academic Librar-
ies: A Qualitative Study.” College & Research Libraries 80 (2): 
152–68. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db
=eric&AN=EJ1207603&site=eds-live.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statis-
tics. (2021). Digest of Education Statistics, 2019 (2021-009), https://
nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/ch_3.asp.

NOTES

1 Part of the problem is that ableism, the implicit belief that everyone is 
physically normal and those who are not cannot succeed, has a “choke hold” in 
higher education. It affects decisions that may affect an entire campus.

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/ch_3.asp
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/ch_3.asp

