LibGuides Accessibility: Best Practices and Guidelines

• Public pages meet accessibility standards.
• Content creators are given the option to add accessible code and content
• The Administrative side does not meet accessibility standards

Springshare, the company that produces LibGuides, has put together this quick guide -- Accessibility & LibGuides -- which includes good practices. In general, while LibGuides software passes accessibility tests, individual guide authors bear responsibility for ensuring their page content and design remain accessible. Learn what works and what is more problematic. Important reading!

1. Content creators have the option to add accessible content
2. Public page elements have been designed to include text links, link titles, and “alt” tags.
3. Meaningful images have alt-text descriptions. Non-relevant images have no alt-text
4. LibGuides does not use color alone to distinguish the importance of a visual element
5. Users and screen readers can read and understand public pages in LibGuides with the style sheets disabled
6. All form elements are labeled as appropriate
7. Public pages do not contain any applets, Flash elements or similar components that require external plug-ins.
8. Blind and visually impaired users can access LibGuides with the addition of assistive technology
9. The public interface supports basic navigation controls via a keyboard,  mouse, or equivalent hardware or software