Author(s)

Subhajit Panda
Department of Library and Information Science, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab-147002, India and University Library, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab-140413, India.

Navkiran Kaur 
Department of Library and Information Science, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab-147002, India.

ISBN 978-93-5547-955-6 (Print)
ISBN 978-93-5547-956-3 (eBook)
DOI: 10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-5547-955-6

The book “A Systematic Review Of The Literature Concerning The Accessibility Of Library Websites” is the product of our research study submitted as a project in the Department of Library and Information Science, Punjabi University, Patiala; as an essential requirement for the completion of the doctoral degree. The ethical obligation of a library professional to ensure that all users have equitable access to the collection and services of the library drives our motivation to work in this field. A disabled or visually impaired person always requires extra support and encouragement to learn to rely on themselves, build the strength to get above their disability and satisfy their informational demands. Additionally, the internet and websites are crucial for creating, preserving, and disseminating knowledge. Internet access is therefore currently essential for getting information. Even though there are several assistive technologies available in this day and age of technical innovation that can readily make a website and its contents accessible to users with disabilities, the situation can occasionally become more challenging due to restrictions like copyright law. To date, a number of actions have been adopted and put into effect to guarantee equal access to the web for those with disabilities, including treaties, legislation, ordinances, and guidelines. This book gives you a basic grasp of web accessibility, associated problems, enacted legislation and agreements, and international standards in this area. To comprehend current research trends on web accessibility, a comprehensive analysis of the prior literature on the accessibility of websites (mostly library websites) is included as a core theme of the book. The situation of web accessibility in India was also highlighted, along with a branch of Indian initiatives.

Chapter Summary

We have started the book by providing a background overview of the human rights to acquire knowledge & information, the special requirement of disabled users, international laws & treaties, web accessibility and W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in Chapter 1. The conflict between the Copyright Act, the Fair Use doctrine, and the Copyright exception for the disabled is illustrated in Chapter 2 of the book. This chapter also discusses the Marrakesh VIP Treaty (MVT), which is a crucial component and generally acknowledged copyright exception treaty, along with the Accessible Publishing and Accessible Books Consortium (ABC). Chapter 3 goes into detail about the three primary accessibility gudelines with detailed description of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), including its significance, target audiences, versions, layer, and guidelines. In order to establish a fundamental comparison between the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508, and WCAG, Section 508 and the ADA touched briefly. Later on in this chapter, a subset of automated accessibility evaluation tools is also covered. This book’s Chapter 4 describes how to organise and carry out a systematic literature review (SLR). The SLR’s requirements, aims, involved search approach, and inclusion and exclusion criteria are all explained in this chapter. The literature review, which is methodically carried out by adhering to the logical method of learning, was discussed in Chapter 5 of this book (general to specific). This chapter reviews existing studies on the web accessibility of e-Government websites before focusing on websites for educational institutions and libraries. Chapter 6 discusses the executive summary of all 40 researches that have been reviewed. The study was wrapped up in Chapter 8 after Chapter 7 described steps being taken in India to make information more accessible to people with disabilities.

 

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A Systematic Review of the Literature Concerning the Accessibility of Library Websites

Subhajit Panda, Navkiran Kaur

A Systematic Review of the Literature Concerning the Accessibility of Library Websites, 10 November 2022, Page 1-76
https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-5547-955-6

Library and information science is a profession where the ethical responsibility of a librarian is to ensure that every user, regardless of caste, gender, colour, or any other material or physical trait, is able to access their required information. Now, people with disabilities had to meet particular requirements in order to access their information. Currently, websites are crucial platforms for creating, disseminating and preserving information. Web Accessibility Initiatives (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) developed one of such guidelines, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). A website should comply with WCAG to be accessible through assistive technologies used by disabled users. This book provides an overview of special requirements of disabled users, international laws & treaties, web accessibility guidelines, and several tools to evaluate the web accessibility of a website. Later, a systematic literature review of 40 relevant researchers was conducted in order to understand the current state of accessibility in the websites of educational institutions, more precisely, library websites. An outline of several initiatives from the Indian government is also compiled in the later sections of the book. Overall this book offers a comprehensive review of web accessibility as well as information on the status and development patterns of accessible websites around the world.