During this time of rapid technological change, the issue of digital inclusion for people with disabilities is one that libraries and other information services are currently addressing and will continue to address well into the future. The following annotated bibliography serves as part of the ALA's Equity of Access Website, and it is intended to help librarians keep abreast of accessibility and web design issues affecting people with disabilities.
Since this bibliography was created for a virtual environment, I confined my searching to resources that are available for free on the Internet. I further confined my searching to items that are directly related to the topic of digital inclusion and web accessibility for people with disabilities. I conducted my search using the Internet search engine "Google" <http://www.google.com>. The following search terms were used in various combinations: "digital divide," "accessibility," "web accessibility," "disabled," and "disabilities." A lecture given by John Moore, Social Sciences/ Human Resources Associate V, MLIS, at Texas Center for Disabilities Studies at the University of Texas' College of Education, on the topic of accessibility for people with disabilities also proved useful in the compilation of the following resources.1 During his lecture, Moore emphasized the usefulness of websites such as: The Job Accommodation Network, ASCLA Issues, Making Libraries Accessible: Best Practices and Advocacy Resources, Do-It Universal Access: Electronic Resources in Libraries, and Librarians' Connection.

Related Legislation

(1) "Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Electronic and Information Technology
Accessibility Standards" Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP:
http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm

This site contains Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This Act "requires access to electronic and information technology procured by Federal agencies. The Access Board developed accessibility standards for the various technologies covered by the law."1 These standards will prove very useful to librarians involved in creating an accessible library environment.

(2) U.S. Department of Justice. "Americans with Disabilities Act: ADA Homepage"
(March 2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

The ADA homepage contains a wealth of information about the American's with Disabilities Act. The "Technical Assistance" link is especially useful. It connects to the full text of the ADA regulations and also provides full text access to a variety of technical assistance materials published by the Department of Justice.

Resources for Librarians

(3) Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies: A Division of the
American Library Association. "ASCLA Issues" (Sept. 2001) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.ala.org/ascla/access_policy.html

This web page provides access to the ALA's Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy, which was written by the Americans with Disabilities Act Assembly, a representational group administered by the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies. The site additionally contains a link to "Equity of Access" resources. This section of the site includes links to full text documents on topics such accessible library workstation design and assistive technology. Also included are links to the papers of Cynthia Waddell, a prolific writer on the topic of digital inclusion for people with disabilities.

(4) Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology. "Universal Access:
Electronic Resources in Libraries" (Jan. 2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.washington.edu/doit/UA/

Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology (DO-IT) is a program provided by the National Science Foundation, the State of Washington, and the U.S. Department of Education. DO-IT "serves to increase the successful participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers such as those in science, engineering, mathematics, and technology."2 This site includes resources on accessible web design and sample materials for use in presentations that "will stimulate discussion and action to ensure that all patrons can access you library's electronic resources."3

(5) Disabilities Resources, Inc. "Librarians' Connection" (2001) Online. Internet.
21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.disabilityresources.org/DRMlibs.html

Developed as part of the "Disabilities Resources Monthly: Guide to Disability Resources on the Internet,"4 this is a great site for librarians. The site contains links to general information, listservs and e-zines, and professional associations dedicated to accessible library services for people with disabilities. Especially noteworthy is the link, "Public and Academic Libraries," which provides access to links to "help librarians share information about their resources, services, policies and procedures regarding access issues."5

(6) Texas Technology Access Project. "Making Libraries Accessible: Best Practices and
Advocacy Resources" Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP:
http://techaccess.edb.utexas.edu/library/libaccess.html

The Texas Technology Access Project is part of the Texas Center for Disability Studies at the The University of Texas at Austin. The project "provides information, conducts training and technical assistance and works with policy makers to support children and adults with disabilities in their efforts to acquire and use technology as a routine part of day-to-day living."6 The "Making Libraries Accessible" portion of the site provides access to information on "Designing an Accessible Workstation," "Making Library Web Pages Accessible," and "Using Assistive Technology to Make the Library Accessible." Also provided is a "Library Access Checklist."

General Resources: Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities

(7) Accessibility Forum. "Accessible Design Sites" Online. Internet. 21 March 2002.
Available FTP: http://www.accessibilityforum.org/resources/design.html

"The Accessibility Forum is an ongoing collaboration among stakeholders affected by Section 508 including industry, government, and other communities in order to benefit employees and members of the public with disabilities."7 "The Accessible Design Sites" portion of the Forum's website provides links to many sites devoted to accessible web design.

(8) GENASYS. "Web Accessibility Resources" (2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002.
Available FTP: http://genasys.usm.maine.edu/access.htm

GENASYS is an online assistive technology certificate program offered by the University of Southern Maine. The "Web Accessibility Resources" portion of the website offers a concise list of practical tips for creating accessible websites. The site also contains a listing of online resources related to the digital divide and its implication in lives of those with disabilities.

(9) The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet. "The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet" (2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.icdri.org/index.html

The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet is a non-profit corporation whose work is supported by donations and grants from individual contributors.8 This site contains many articles and links pertinent to the topic of digital inclusion for people with disabilities. A highly useful link on this site is the "Accessibility Center," which contains an alphabetical index to accessibility related resources.

(10) Trace Research and Development Center. "Designing More Usable Web Sites"
Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://trace.wisc.edu/world/web/index.html

The Trace Research & Development Center is a part of the College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and it "is currently working on ways to make standard information technologies and telecommunications systems more accessible and usable by people with disabilities. This work is primarily funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research telecommunication technologies."9 This site contains many, many links to resources that deal with accessible web design topics such as: web access tools, multimedia and virtual reality access, and organizations, projects and technologies that address web access issues. This site covers a variety of topics and is great way to further explore the topic of accessible design.

(11) U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment. "The Job
Accommodation Network" (Feb. 2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/

The Job Accommodation Network is a free service of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. JAN's "Accommodation Toolbox" is a wonderful resource for librarians looking for recommendations on disability-specific accommodations. The impairments covered draw upon a broad range of people, from those cerebral palsy to those with learning disabilities.

(12) WC3: Web Accessibility Initiative. "Web Accessibility Initiative" (March 2002)
Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.w3.org/WAI/

"WAI, in coordination with organizations around the world, pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development."10 As one of the definitive websites on web accessibility, this site contains many resources, including resources related to web accessibility training. One of the most useful features of this site are the "Guidelines," "Checklists," and "Techniques" links. These links lead to the Web Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, a prioritized checklist of points that make a website accessible, as well as detailed markup examples and explanations of how to implement the guidelines.

(13) WebAIM: Web Accessibility in Mind. "Expanding the Web's Potential for People
with Disabilities" (2001) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP:
http://www.webaim.org/

The goal of Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM) is to "improve accessibility to online learning opportunities for all people; in particular to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities who currently may have a difficult time getting access to post-secondary online learning opportunities."11 This resource contains many great resources, including a "How To" section that contains useful tutorials covering accessibility topics for software applications such as Acrobat PDF, Dreamweaver, and PowerPoint. The site's selection of popular resources is also quite useful.

Web Accessibility Verifiers

(14) CAST. "Bobby Worldwide" (March 2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002.
Available FTP: http://www.cast.org/bobby/

Bobby is a web page evaluation service that was created by the Center for Applied Special Technology, a non-profit organization. The purpose of this site is to "help web page authors identify and repair significant barriers to access by individuals with disabilities."12

(15) WC3: Web Accessibility Initiative. "WC3 HTML Validation Service" (Sept. 2001)
Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://validator.w3.org/

WC3 also provides a web page evaluation service that check sites for conformance to W3C Recommendations and other standards.13

Citation Format:
MLA Style Guide: The Documentation Style of the Modern Language Association. (Sept 1999) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.newark.ohio-state.edu/~osuwrite/mla.htm

Notes

1 "Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Electronic and Information Technology
Accessibility Standards" Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP:
http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm

2 Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology. "Universal Access:
Electronic Resources in Libraries" (Jan. 2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.washington.edu/doit/UA/

3 Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology. "Universal Access:
Electronic Resources in Libraries" (Jan. 2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.washington.edu/doit/UA/

4 Disabilities Resources, Inc. "Disabilities Resources Monthly: Guide to Disability Resources on the Internet" (March 2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.disabilityresources.org/index.html

5 Disabilities Resources, Inc. "Librarians' Connection" (2001) Online. Internet.
21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.disabilityresources.org/DRMlibs.html

6 Texas Technology Access Project. "The Texas Technology Access Project" Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://techaccess.edb.utexas.edu/tatp.html

7Accessibility Forum. "Accessibility Forum Brochure" Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.accessibilityforum.org/brochure/brochure_2.html

8 The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet. "About Us" (2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.icdri.org/about_us.htm

9 Trace Center. "About the Trace Center" Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://trace.wisc.edu/about/

10 WC3: Web Accessibility Initiative. "Web Accessibility Initiative" (March 2002)
Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.w3.org/WAI/#About

11 WebAIM: Web Accessibility in Mind. "About WebAIM" (2001) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://www.webaim.org/about/

12 CAST. "Bobby Worldwide" (March 2002) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002.
Available FTP: http://www.cast.org/bobby/

13 WC3: Web Accessibility Initiative. "WC3 HTML Validation Service" (Sept. 2001) Online. Internet. 21 March 2002. Available FTP: http://validator.w3.org/