Accessibility and the Library Website

Technology never stands still, though, so libraries keep looking ahead to make sure they stay compliant with General Data Protection Regulation and data processing agreement legislation. They continue adapting and incorporating new options for accessibility into our website offerings while continuing to keep users and website visitors as safe as possible.

The World Wide Web; How It All Began

It was an exciting year, 1969. The Beatles gave their last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in Savile Row, London; Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon, and a group of graduate students from UCLA sent the first message from one computer to another via a system called ARPANET, the forerunner of our modern Internet.

Despite that promising start, it wasn’t until 1983 that networks of computers first began to communicate with each other. And it took until around 1995 before the Internet started to find its way into residential homes. The World Wide Web itself, which most of us think of when we refer to the Internet, has been with us for over 30 years now: it made its first appearance in 1989.

Most of the early websites were just strings of text. If you’re interested, you can still see the first website — it went live on 6 August 1991. From that first simple website in 1991, the Internet has grown exponentially. It’s estimated that there are now around 1.18 billion websites.

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A Potted (and Very Short) History of Internet Searching

It’s great that all that information’s out there. Still, it’s not much use if no one can find it — which is where search engines come in. (I sometimes half-joke about my role as a medical librarian by describing myself as a sort of specialized search engine.)

When Google Search first appeared in the mid-1990s, it was a revelation. I sometimes have to remind myself that my younger nephews and nieces have never known a world without Google. It still accounts for over 92% of the search engine market share, certainly in the US and the UK. Google Chrome is the preferred browser for many professional library software programs, including library catalogs and several medical article databases — just one more example of its impact.

While Google is still the most widely used search engine, it’s not the only option — and in the early days, several companies jostled for that top position. Some sources will tell you the first search engine was Infoseek. Still, most agree it was, in fact, Aliweb, created by Nexor software engineer Martijn Koster in 1992. It was presented at the first World Wide Web Conference in 1994.

Various other search engines followed, including AltaVista, launched in 1995 and absorbed into Yahoo search in 2011; and Microsoft’s Bing, which came along in 2009. There are all kinds of search engines out there now, including image searching, metasearch engines, and even reverse image searches.

Once the multimedia capacities of computers expanded to allow sound and video, the Internet really came to life. And as soon as it was possible to view the Internet on a mobile phone, the world opened up still further — my fairly basic Smartphone now has more computing speed and capacity than many early devices. (Including, apparently, the computers that put men on the moon back in 1969.)

Librarians and Safety Online

As technology has become more sophisticated and widespread, it’s become even more important to do everything we can to keep our users safe when we’re putting information together. We need to make sure the information on our pages is as accurate and authoritative as possible. We also need to make sure that if we collect any personal data, via an inquiry form, for instance, we obtain express consent and make our privacy policy very clear. We clarify why we need the information; we keep it only for the purposes we state, and we don’t share it with anyone without express permission. Our membership forms and policy statements make all of this as straightforward as possible.

When it comes to dealing with personal information, we’re also bound in the UK by General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), which the Information Commissioner’s Office describes as “tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018”. There are different sets of guidance to cover, for instance, the use of AI as well as direct marketing.

Accessibility

We’re also obliged to ensure our websites are as accessible as possible. Without turning this into a mini techy guidebook, there are a few guidelines we need to bear in mind. These include WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) — there’s a useful outline that we can refer to.

Good practice also dictates that we should use straightforward language on our websites. It must be possible for all users to navigate the web pages. The sites have to be easily visible to screen reading software, for instance. In the UK, we must comply with the guidance in the Equality Act 2010, which covers a range of conditions that might apply, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, speaking English as a second language, and any impairments to mobility, amongst others.

We also have to make sure our sites display equally well on laptops, tablets, and smartphones — sometimes called responsive design. This doesn’t mean they always look identical. Still, it does mean that we need to make sure the information is equally accessible.

In the physical library, we also have assistive technology available for those visiting the service in person. This often includes induction loops to help those with hearing aids, screen magnifiers, screen readers, screen overlays, and tools for speech recognition.

To help keep us up to date with the latest requirements and changes, we’re regularly trained and updated on various aspects of equality and diversity, including cultural and disability awareness. Whenever I’ve joined a new National Health Service (NHS) organization, mandatory training has usually included this in some form, either via e-learning or a face-to-face training session.

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Conclusion

This is a snapshot of where we are now.

Technology never stands still, though, so libraries keep looking ahead to make sure they stay compliant with General Data Protection Regulation and data processing agreement legislation. They continue adapting and incorporating new options for accessibility into our website offerings while continuing to keep users and website visitors as safe as possible.

AI and Virtual Reality are just two of the new technologies currently peeking over the horizon — it’ll be interesting to see how we ensure libraries incorporate safety, security, and accessibility into future developments.