Digitization of Library Information and Its Accessibility for People with Disabilities

Abstract

After 20 years of digitization efforts, hardly a single type of library information resource remains that has not shifted, at least to some extent, to an electronic, Web-based format: information about the library itself, catalogs, indexes, dictionaries and encyclopedias, books and journals, tutorials, reserve materials and reference services. The online migration of these resources has opened unprecedented opportunities to people with “print disabilities”, who cannot independently access printed works because of lack of sight, dyslexia or insufficient motor control (Coombs, 2000), but who are able to access electronic text with the help of assistive input and output technology, such as modified computer keyboards and screen readers with speech or Braille output (Mates, 2000; Lazzaro, 2001).