Appendix C: Accessibility Information About Library E-Resource Content Providers

Originally founded as the Library E-Resource Accessibility Group in 2015, by the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the Library Accessibility Alliance https://libraryaccessibility.org/ has grown to be a multi-consortia organization advocating for accessible digital resources in a variety of ways, including engaging with vendors of e-resources licensed to libraries.  Their consultants have tested and evaluated 97 different e-resources. Their testing methodology, as well as a list of those resources and links to the evaluations can be found here: https://libraryaccessibility.org/testing

The LAA website has links to many resources, most notably, The Library Accessibility Toolkit, to which others are invited to contribute.

Several vendors publish their own information about the accessibility of their content.  Here are a few key fact sheets:

Accessibility Evaluation

https://training.cdn.overdrive.com/OverDrive-Kanopy-Website-VPAT-2.1.pdf

Kanopy Accessibility Statement

https://www.kanopy.com/accessibility

Hoopla Accessibility Statement

https://library.austintexas.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=43073043

Libby Accessibility Statement

https://company.overdrive.com/2022/07/21/how-libbys-accessibility-features-provide-an-inclusive-experience-for-all/

Report by U Michigan for the Library Accessibility Alliance

https://www.libraryaccessibility.org/sites/default/files/2021-07/kanopy-streaming-servicebc4231ec77a567c9a92bff0000d6f3d6%5B1%5D.pdf

University of Washington Quick Tips for Accessibility

https://uw.pressbooks.pub/quicktips/

Austin Public Library

Has a page on their website providing accessibility feature of their “virtual collections,” including cloudLibrary, Libby, Hoopla and Kanopy. https://library.austintexas.libguides.com/adaptiveassistivefeatures

Jisc

The UK digital, data and technology agency working to improve technology to serve education and research conducted an ebook and ebook platform evaluation: https://sites.google.com/site/ebookaudit2016/using-the-data/dashboard-avg
Cited in Pam Schindler’s 2019 article, “eBooks and Accessibility: A Librarian’s Perspective.” https://aipi.com.au/ebooks-and-accessibility-a-librarians-perspective/

Madison College (Madison, Wisconsin)

Has a libguide providing accessibility information for many digital resources, including JSTOR, Gale databases, Kanopy and NoveList. https://libguides.madisoncollege.edu/accessibility