Designing Libraries Without Barriers: Accessibility in Libraries Pre-conference

Presenters: Annamarie C. Klose, MLIS | Metadata Initiatives Librarian & Olivia Wood, MLIS | Metadata Specialist at The Ohio State University Libraries

Contacts: klose.16@osu.edu; wood.1001@osu.edu

Bios: Annamarie C. Klose is the Metadata Initiatives Librarian at The Ohio State University Libraries. She manages Digital Collections (DC), a digital repository of digitized and born digital special collections and archival resources which is built on Samvera Hyrax. She leads the Metadata Initiatives team in the creation and management of metadata and digital objects for DC. This work is done in close collaboration with colleagues in curatorial units and subject specialties. She serves as a Samvera Board member, Samvera Metadata Interest Group co-facilitator, Digital Library Federation Assessment Interest Group Metadata Working Group’s (DLF AIG MWG) Tools Subgroup facilitator. Her research interests include date metadata.

Olivia Wood is the Metadata Specialist at The Ohio State University Libraries, where she works with digitized and born-digital collections, metadata creation and remediation, digital repository workflows, and accessibility initiatives. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science with a concentration in Archival Studies from Kent State University and has professional experience in archival processing, digitization, metadata standards, and digital collections. Her recent work has focused on exploring the use of generative AI and large language models in library workflows, including AI-assisted alt-text generation for special collections.

Description: Digital collections require significant investment by institutions in order to comply with federal digital accessibility standards. The presenters work on a repository of digitized and born digital special collections and archival resources with non-MARC metadata. A large portion of their work includes images that need Alt-Text or a longer description. There are accessibility considerations with text and audiovisual resources. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), there is the potential to leverage digital accessibility and metadata work at scale. However, there are pros and cons with doing so. This session explores various scenarios, workflows, basic terminology, and AI prompting. Additional considerations involve bias, ethics, copyright law, transparency, and the environment.

 Learning Outcomes:  

• Attendees learn key definitions related to AI

• Attendees will understand the advantages and disadvantages of using AI for this work

• Attendees will become familiar with different tools that are available for this work

Presenters: Ruth Light, MLIS | Electronic Resources Access Administrator & Rachael Cohen, MLIS | Head, Discovery and User Experience at IU Bloomington Libraries

Contacts: rachcohe@iu.edu; ralight@iu.edu

Bios: Rachael Cohen is the Head of Discovery and User Experience at Indiana University Bloomington Libraries. In this role, she leads product strategy and delivery for the Libraries website, discovery systems, and other user-facing platforms, using data, user research, and iterative design to create accessible, user-centered research experiences. Her recent work has focused on developing sustainable accessibility workflows for library systems. Since 2023, she has served on the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Library Accessibility Group and was recently appointed to the Library Accessibility Alliance Vendor Relations Subcommittee. Her research interests include digital accessibility, user experience, discovery systems, and library technology.

Ruth Light is the Electronic Resources Access Administrator at Indiana University Bloomington Libraries. In this role she ensures that licensed and open access e-resources are available, findable, and accessible to users. Her research interests include cross-departmental collaboration to improve user outcomes.

Description: As libraries face increasing accessibility responsibilities, many are searching for practical ways to evaluate electronic resources and digital content without dedicated accessibility specialists or extensive campus support. This presentation shares how Indiana University Libraries developed an accessibility review workflow through an iterative process of testing, documentation, refinement, and collaboration. We will discuss how we built the skills needed to review VPATs, conduct library-led accessibility testing, and support remediation of library content while integrating these activities into existing library workflows. Along the way, we will highlight how the workflow evolved in response to lessons learned, feedback, and changing institutional needs. 

 Learning Outcome:  

• Attendees will learn strategies for developing and maintaining a scalable accessibility review workflow that integrates into local library operations

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) is a chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). ALAO exists to develop, promote, and improve library and information services in Ohio’s higher education community, to advance the interests of academic librarianship and the personnel of academic libraries, and to provide leadership and advocacy for the educational and policy concerns of the academic library community in Ohio.

• We encourage attendees to carpool to and from the conference to reduce pollution.
  
• We encourage attendees to bring their own refillable water bottles and coffee mugs to the conference to reduce waste.
  
• The committee will be very intentional about what we choose to print. As such, stay tuned for details about electronic conference programs, evaluations and more.

The conference planners seek to create a space for respectful dialogue and debate about critical issues. Upon registration, attendees will be asked to review and accept a list of community agreements. Conference planners will actively strive to create spaces in which multiple perspectives can be heard and no one voice dominates.