Library: Buffalo State University EIT Accessibility Five-Year Plan: Library Accessibility Group (LAG) Goals & Assessment

4.1 Infrastructure (LAG)

Objective/Milestone	Plan Year	Activity/Steps	Resources/Materials	Status Check	Outcome
Accessibility Services	1	Create process to produce alternative formats (document remediation) on request – this includes library documentation (tutorials, forms, etc.) and library resources (articles, book chapters, etc.) Create review infrastructure to collect feedback and review remediation tickets using LibAnswers knowledgebase	Flat-bed scanner Adobe DC Pro Wufoo or LibWizard forms Staff time See Roles and Responsibilities that follows chart See Digitizing Guidelines that follows chart		Alternate format request process Identify processes from data collected
Accessible Collections	1-5	Implement accessibility purchasing procedures	See Purchase Procedures that follows chart
Accessible Spaces	1-5	Work with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to review the library Assistive Technology Lab (Room 181G). Ensure workstations and equipment are in working order and updated	Library EIT Compliance officer Student Accessibility Services		Increased efficiency in providing accessible content Student have access to assistive technology

4.2 Communication (LAG)

Objective/Milestone

Plan Year

Activity/Steps

Resources/Materials

Status Check

Outcome

Create documentation repository

Create LibGuide to host links and documents related to library accessibility for patrons and staff.

Include links to submit remediation tickets, training, and accessibility reporting

Staff time

Resource for faculty, staff and students

Review the library accessibility webpage

1-5

Review the existing accessibility page yearly to ensure accuracy

https://library.buffalostat e.edu/home/disabilities

Staff time

Student Accessibility

Services

Ongoing

4.3 Training/Resources Allocation (LAG)

Objective/Milestone	Plan Year	Activity/Steps	Resources/Materials	Status Check	Outcome
Create a plan for outreach to Library staff	1-5	Hold Librarians on Learning training sessions during the start of each semester to train staff Provide access to Deque University* training to interested library staff	Deque subscription Staff time		Staff have increased awareness of resources
Identify and charge a Library EIT compliance officer	1	Identify and charge a Library EIT Compliance Officer Notify the office of Student Accessibility Services	Library Director
Objective/Milestone	Plan Year	Activity/Steps	Resources/Materials	Status Check	Outcome
Provide ready access to training webinars on demand	1-5	Examples include: Project Enable- https://projectenable.syr.edu/ AccessLibraries- https://www.washington.edu/doit/ universal -access -making -library resources -accessible -people disabilities	Staff time	Ongoing

4.4 Monitoring Compliance (LAG)

Objective/Milestone	Plan Year	Activity/Steps	Resources/Materials	Status Check	Outcome
Direct communication with Student Accessibility services (SAS)	1-5	Invite SAS to library faculty meetings once per semester to discuss trends and issues related to accessibility	Library EIT Compliance officer		Library staff continues to be informed and updated on accessibility matters
Review of support tickets to identify accessibility issues or concerns	2-5	Yearly review of support issues to identify emerging trends or weaknesses in support	Library EIT Compliance officer
Yearly report to library and SAS staff on library accessibility	2-5	Brief report to the library and Student Accessibility Services staff on progress toward accessibility initiatives and compliance	Library EIT Compliance officer
Create exception policy	2	Create Exception policy for resources which cannot be made accessible Create Exception form and Sole Source letter	See Exception Policy that follows chart		Some articles may meet rule of exception (archives).

4.5 Roles & Responsibilities (LAG)

The library will appoint a Library Electronic Information Technology (EIT) compliance officer to oversee and assess library accessibility initiatives and compliance.
The Butler library will create an ad hoc Library Accessibility Committee that will assist the Library EIT Compliance Officer in review of accessibility initiatives and compliance.
The Butler library maintains a Library Accessibility Roles and Responsibilities matrix which identifies who is responsible for various accessibility compliance functions within the library. Each item has attached to it suggested office(s)/person(s) that are responsible for initiating and providing oversight of the action.

Purchase Procedures

These procedures are used when the library is investigating a new resource or service. This process is not required for existing platforms that have already undergone this review.

When evaluating new resources, request from publishers/vendors:
1. Accessibility contact information
2. Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) and/or other accessibility documentation.
Checklist during product review
1. Consult http://www.open.ac.uk/library/help -and -support/databases -accessibility -issues
  1. Are there outstanding accessibility issues with the product?
2. Review VPATS and other support documents
  1. Is the VPAT up-to-date and accurate?
3. Investigate alternative format availability
  1. Does the product produce alternative formats such as audio or html?
4. During product trials, test content with Blackboard ALLY tool along with campus supported screen readers and a PDF/Word accessibility checker
  1. Does the support assistive software or devices such as large print interfaces, text-to-speech output, voice-activated input, refreshable braille displays, and alternate keyboard or pointer interfaces, in a manner consistent with the Web Accessibility Initiative Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 AA?

Digitizing Guidelines

The library will ensure that documents or forms digitized by or hosted by the library are accessible or can be made accessible upon request.
When digitizing content, the library will produce high quality scans of no less than 300 DPI
When digitizing content, the library will produce text-renderable scans using basic OCR
When producing videos, the library will ensure that such content is captioned

In some cases, an exception to this policy may be needed when a resource cannot be made accessible. In this case an exception form should be completed which identifies known issues and rationale for procuring the resource despite its lack of accessibility.

2021 (LAG) SUNY EIT Report Challenges & Barriers

What are the challenges/barriers to Libraries: Library Accessibility Guidelines (LAG) plan implementation?

Reliance on Vendors: Digital resources that are purchased and subscribed to are typically hosted on third-party vendor sites. While a VPAT repository has been established, there is a lack of resources to conduct internal reviews. We must rely on SUNY documentation and vendor updates to track accessibility.

Training & Communication: The pandemic has disrupted normal workflows. As a result, we struggle to create a consistent training schedule and maximize communication regarding best practices in accessibility. However, we have a form set up on the accessibility website to record all accessibility issues experienced by patrons.

Opportunity for Collaboration with Partner Stakeholders: The pandemic has impeded progress for collaborations with Student Accessibility Services, especially in assessment of physical spaces and the Assistive Technology Lab. Resources and time are barriers to setting up collaborative meetings to assess certain library accessibility resources.

Training & Awareness: Planning internal workshops for Butler Library faculty and staff has proven difficult. Resources and time are barriers to creating a robust program of information sessions and training workshops.

Buffalo State University EIT Accessibility Five-Year Plan