Benchmarking your digital accessibility - library platforms

Libraries sit at the heart of colleges and universities and play a significant role in promoting learner productivity.

Library staff play a key role in working with others to access resources in alternative formats, supporting and promoting the use of e-books and the use of technology to support independent learning.

Accessible library provision is now more important than ever, especially since the UK passed new legislation in September 2018 to enact the European Union (EU) Directive on the Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications. This applies across all publicly funded higher and further education institutions, placing an expectation on them to ensure that their digital assets including their library platforms meet high and measurable standards of accessibility.

Last year Jisc’s subject specialists carried out over 50 accessibility snapshots in colleges and universities across the UK, exploring library platforms and associated information (amongst other areas) providing institutions with feedback on how accessible they might be from a learner/user perspective.  In doing so we’ve encountered examples of excellent practice and helped organisations identify areas for further development.

This online training session address some of our findings, and will look at the key aspects of practice that constitute more inclusive library services.

The session will provide delegates with guidance about how to carry out their own accessibility snapshots to establish a system for evaluating existing practice and identifying areas for improvement. This will help institutions in meeting their duties under the new legislation to provide accessibility statements.

This course will be of interest to:

• Library managers​
• Front desk service teams
• Student support teams
• Disability professionals

Participants will:

• Recognise their legislative requirements in the context of the library platforms and their content
• Recognise common issues and good practices identified from the Jisc accessibility snapshot service
• Understand how to improve guidance and support for all students, especially students with disabilities
• Understand how to evaluate their own library guidance and associated library platforms, identifying areas for improvement
• Recognise the different roles responsible for ensuring effective support
• Consider how to take this forward in the context of their own institution

Jisc members - £95 + VAT 1
Other organisations - £150 + VAT

This course can be adapted for single institution delivery so you can have more control over timing and staff attendance.

For more information, email training@jisc.ac.uk or phone 01235 822242.