On April 24th, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a final rule updating the regulations for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For those of us at law libraries operated by state and local governments, that started a two-year countdown to meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA standards for accessibility.
Now, just a few days before the initial deadline, the DOJ has issued an interim final rule, extending the compliance date by one more year. State and larger local governments now have until April 24, 2027 to meet accessibility standards, while smaller entities have until April 2028. This change has been viewed with relief by schools, universities, and other organizations that have been scrambling to meet their goals, but with frustration by disability advocates who had hoped for more rapid improvements.
For law libraries, whether this has been a long-term project or a last-minute scramble, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the state of our accessibility projects. What makes these changes important? What we should do moving forward, whether we’ve met all our initial goals or not?
Why Web Content Accessibility?
Of course, the obvious answer is compliance: law libraries have to meet our legal obligations or potentially face the consequences. No one wants their organization to be targeted for a lawsuit or other legal challenge, so meeting requirements is in our organization’s best interest. Compliance is a reasonable and valid motivator.
But compliance isn’t the only motivation: an important reason that libraries exist is to provide information to their communities, and accessibility barriers impede that mission. Many law libraries provide their newest content primarily in online formats, which are more readily available to users. The next logical step is to ensure these materials are accessible to all users, whether they use a laptop, a mobile device, or a screen reader to access that information. Improving access and accessibility encourage a virtuous cycle, in which libraries provide better services for more people and in turn become more valued and can successfully advocate for the resources needed to provide improved services.
Even after two years of preparation, many law librarians and law library workers may not think very much about web content accessibility, but anyone who drafts a shared document or posts a social media update is creating web content. So accessibility is something everyone may need to consider, at least in general terms. We may not all be experts, but we can all be aware that our audience includes people with many needs and perspectives, including those who use assistive technologies. And if we’re aware, we can do our best to communicate more clearly and accessibly.
What Comes Next for Web Content Accessibility?
For many institutions and organizations, work is still ongoing to meet the standards laid out in WCAG 2.1 AA, and meeting those standards by next April is the clear next step for accessibility moving forward. Every little improvement helps, whether it be transitioning from a PDF form to an accessible web form or adding alt-text to images on library guides. But once those changes have been made, there are further steps to be taken.
Most law libraries license web content from vendors, and according to the rule, these resources also must meet accessibility guidelines. Law librarians generally can’t directly make changes to these interfaces or otherwise improve the accessibility of licensed content, but we can negotiate and advocate. Most vendors are well aware of accessibility needs and have filled out Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) to report on the accessibility of their platforms and content. The completed Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) should provide a high-level overview of accessibility features and failures for the provided content and be used to create a roadmap for improvements.
Institutional requirements and needs will vary, but VPATs are often a good starting place for evaluating and requesting improvements in licensed content accessibility. The Library Accessibility Alliance provides an example of standardized licensing language that clarifies expectations and opportunities for improving accessibility. They also provide independent accessibility evaluations for some library resources (though few are law-specific). Law libraries can use these and similar resources to make choices about existing services and resources as well as when re-negotiating contracts or considering new licenses for online content and platforms.
Another next step to further improve accessibility for library-created content is meeting additional or updated standards. The Title II rule sets the technical standard at WCAG 2.1 AA, but there are additional criteria at Level AAA, including more specific guidelines for audiovisual materials and readability improvements. The updated standard WCAG 2.2 introduced additional success criteria that libraries can choose to meet. Some of these are technical changes while others are about improving predictability and simplifying input. While these additional accessibility features are not required at this time, they will improve the experience of many users, whether they use assistive technologies or not.
Beyond general guidelines and best practice checklists, law libraries could benefit from usability testing of their own sites and resources. This could be an independent third-party audit from an accessibility specialist, a formal usability study with carefully chosen participants, or informal questions asked of students and other library users during reference interviews. All of these can provide helpful feedback to consider when planning large- or small-scale changes, though small sample sizes and other limitations need to be taken into account before making any final decisions.
Wherever your library is on its accessibility journey, there is always more to learn and there are always improvements to be made. But we can still celebrate achievements along the way. If your library is already completely compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA in all its online resources and content—congratulations on that amazing milestone! If not, there is still time to meet the new deadline. And either way, remember that any improvement is worthwhile: best of luck on the next steps, and keep up the good work!
About the author
Rachel Ford is a Bulletin co-editor and Resources Management Librarian at the Law Library, Northern Illinois University.