Accessibility Update – Fall 2025

• We have identified the Accessibility Checker plugin by Equalize Digital as our choice for monitoring accessibility compliance on websites. Brendan has added some scanning and reporting tools for our local use. This is a free tool and eliminates the need to rely on and cost of contracting with a third-party vendor, and, we believe, a better solution all around.
• Using the scanning tool and screen readers to test functionality, Brendan has identified a list of basic structural fixes to be applied to website builds to achieve basic accessibility compliance.
• At this time: Brendan is testing these fixes on websites of libraries participating in the Website Accessibility Learning Group. We are monitoring ongoing compliance of these sites as their web managers continue to make routine updates to their site.
• Erica has been studying principles of accessible content and is developing and presenting a series of trainings for website content managers on accessibility of posts, documents, and Divi pages. Website trainings are posted at https://training.librarieswin.org/accessibility-training-posts/
• We are monitoring third-party content providers (online catalog – Bibliocore, Aspen, Vega; calendars – Tockify, Google; Libby/OverDrive, BadgerLink, etc.) to make sure their content is also accessible.

As we establish a website structure workflow, eventually Brendan and/or the LEANWI team will begin applying changes to your website.

What will this look like?

Many of the changes will be invisible to you as website managers and your users who don’t use assistive technology. However, there will be some notable changes:

Changes visible to website users:

• Post Sliders and other features can no longer be animated. Any animations/movement will be removed from websites.
• Calendars will need to appear (initially) in “list” or agenda” layout rather than traditional month grid form. Exception to this is the Tockify “mini calendar” that has a block grid that links to a list of items below. Specific instructions will be given to screen readers to direct users to the main calendar page which will appear in agenda/list layout. A sighted user can then manually select to view a calendar in monthly/gird view.

To see an example of a website with initial changes, see https://tbscottlibrary.org/. Note:

• Static slider on homepage
• Default Agenda view for calendar at https://tbscottlibrary.org/events/ with option to toggle to Monthly view.

Changes visible to website managers on the back end:

• A new plugin called Accessibility Checker installed an active in the lefthand menu bar on the dashboard and a checker on each page and post (training on this to come).
• A new item in the Dashboard menu bar called “Ask for Review” (training on this to come).
• If by chance your website colors are not contrast compliant, we may need to adjust your basic website palette.

When should I expect these changes?

Short answer: not immediately.

As we have nearly 130 websites, and the sites vary in their complexity (number of pages/posts) and underlying structure, obviously these changes cannot be applied overnight. We are still testing the package of fixes on 8-10 representative test sites and reviewing how they hold up as websites are updated on a routine basis. But you might expect a broad application of changes starting in early 2026.

• Review your website workflows and identify what content you are regularly adding to the website:
  • Adding posts that appear in a home page slider
    • Do you know how to use headings in these posts?
    • Are you adding alt text to featured images?
    • Are you posting Canva posters as JPG images instead of using text in your posts? STOP DOING THAT!
  • Adding documents to your website (library board agendas, registration forms, newsletters)
    • Do you understand why PDFs can be a problem for your website’s accessibility?
    • Are you creating accessible documents in Word or Google Docs with the Grackle add-on?
    • Are you using styles to create headings in Word?
    • Are you using OneDrive to post view-only links to Word documents instead of posting PDFs on your website? (Training coming in October)
    • If you feel you must use a PDF, are you saving your accessible Word document and then using a PDF remediation tool to create an accessible PDF?
  • Adding new webpages/Divi content to your website
    • Are you creating a webpage with appropriate heading structure?
    • Are you adding Alt Text to images?
• Attend and/or review website accessibility trainings. https://training.librarieswin.org/accessibility-training-posts/
  • Monthly trainings – training topics posted on homepage of https://training.librarieswin.org/
    • 2^nd Mondays at 1 PM
    • 3^rd Wednesdays at 11 AM
    • 3^rd Thursdays at 1 PM and 2 PM
  • Individual/small group training by request (websitehelp@librarieswin.org)
• Identify documents you regularly load on your website (meeting minutes, newsletters, images), and consider training for staff who create these documents on how to assure they are accessible.
• Clean up unused media, posts, etc. The less “stuff” on your site, the fewer accessibility concerns.
• Ask questions. Ask for help – we’re here at websitehelp@librarieswin.org.
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• At some point before your compliance date (April 2027), plan to be invited to participate in a small group training to review your website and how to maintain accessibility. This likely will begin spring/summer 2026 and roll through 2027.
• The more you focus on learning now, the less concern there needs to be in 18 months. Start making website accessibility part of your daily practice.

Remember, LEANWI can create the foundation of an accessible website, but it is ultimately the library’s responsibility to have and maintain an accessible website under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Penalties after the compliance date will be the same as if your building was not accessible to all public users. More than that, accessibility opens our doors (physical and digital) to everybody.