Home » LILAC Events » Spring Training: Meeting Students Where They Are (June 2016) » Accessibility and Information Literacy

Accessibility and Information Literacy

Hunter College librarian Adina Mulliken facilitated a free-flowing workshop on accessibility and information literacy: part education on accessibility issues, part self-led problem solving, part discussion.

The workshop was centered around a libguide created specifically for the workshop, which served as a home base for attendees to work from. From this website, we could watch videos, work through practice worksheets, and test ourselves on our knowledge of best practices in accessibility. One particular websites librarians exploring accessibility issues found helpful to view and discuss during the session: wave.webaim.org, a web accessibility evaluation tool. Try plugging in your library website address — the results may make you uncomfortable!

The discussions in the workshop ranged from reports on various types of disabilities librarians have encountered, to proper use of alt text in online photos, to the benefits of using Microsoft Word as opposed to Google Docs, to the pitfalls one might encounter in creating a database tutorial for students with accessibility issues. The librarians in attendance included representatives from CUNY, Barnard, Bank Street School, and Manhattanville College.

Thanks to facilitator Adina Mulliken for a useful session!

–Julia Furay