Continuing in the Web Words vein, Steph over at Technobiblio, a great new collaborative blog, posted some interesting new developments on the accessibility front: Accessibility options becoming more accessible.

She asks “Can I just state how cool it is to see accessibility issues being addressed in creative ways?” Yes, please do and let’s hope it doesn’t stop here. There is so much to be done. Virtually every library home page and catalog interface could use a redesign with accessibility standards in mind.

Consider a visually impaired person who surfs by having pages electronically read aloud. Now imagine what happens when that person visits a site which has an extensive menu bar on the left and the regularly updated content on the right. Typically, given the way e-readers are programmed, to hear the new content, they will have to sit through a reading of the entire menu bar each and every time they visit.

This is unacceptably negligent. You’ll notice that the well-designed LIS blogs (for example, Library Stuff, LISNews.com and of course, TechnoBiblio) are conscientious of this potential problem, providing content first, sidebar second. This is more about ignorance than design, so it’s crucial that we continue to talk about accessibility and keep these issues in the forefront. Kudos, Steph.