Implementing accessibility means making change from within. But real barriers stand in the way. In response, we have looked to the infrastructure of strategic planning as a vehicle for change. This presentation describes an approach for improving accessibility by integrating accessibility goals, measures, and initiatives into strategic planning.
Presentation for California Library Association, Annual Conference, Pasadena, CA, Saturday, October 31, 2009.
“Digital Collection Development, Building Collections in Cyberspace”.
Leveraging change through digital capability - Scott Hibberson, Saf Arfan and...Jisc
Led by Scott Hibberson, subject specialist - online learning and the digital student experience, Jisc.
With contributions from
Saf Arfan, vice-principal for development and innovation at Salford City College
Dr Liz Bennett, director of learning and teaching at the University of Huddersfield
Connect more in Liverpool, 21 June 2016
Transforming library culture with a Digital Accessibility TeamRachel Vacek
By intentionally creating positions that incorporate accessibility into job responsibilities, and through the formation of a Digital Accessibility Team (DAT), our library has been able to further establish a culture of accessibility advocacy and awareness. Learn about DAT's accessibility services, including consultations, evaluations, and support for those who want to build accessibility best practices into all stages of projects and service design.
http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/150635
Digital Humanities Collaboration: Perspectives from a Librarian, a Faculty Me...Dr. Monica D.T. Rysavy
This presentation was given by Kevin Hunt, Ph.D., Russell Michalak, MLIS, and Monica D.T. Rysavy, Ph.D. at the Tri-State College Library Cooperative (TCLC) Spring Program in 2018.
Presentation for California Library Association, Annual Conference, Pasadena, CA, Saturday, October 31, 2009.
“Digital Collection Development, Building Collections in Cyberspace”.
Leveraging change through digital capability - Scott Hibberson, Saf Arfan and...Jisc
Led by Scott Hibberson, subject specialist - online learning and the digital student experience, Jisc.
With contributions from
Saf Arfan, vice-principal for development and innovation at Salford City College
Dr Liz Bennett, director of learning and teaching at the University of Huddersfield
Connect more in Liverpool, 21 June 2016
Transforming library culture with a Digital Accessibility TeamRachel Vacek
By intentionally creating positions that incorporate accessibility into job responsibilities, and through the formation of a Digital Accessibility Team (DAT), our library has been able to further establish a culture of accessibility advocacy and awareness. Learn about DAT's accessibility services, including consultations, evaluations, and support for those who want to build accessibility best practices into all stages of projects and service design.
http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/150635
Digital Humanities Collaboration: Perspectives from a Librarian, a Faculty Me...Dr. Monica D.T. Rysavy
This presentation was given by Kevin Hunt, Ph.D., Russell Michalak, MLIS, and Monica D.T. Rysavy, Ph.D. at the Tri-State College Library Cooperative (TCLC) Spring Program in 2018.
Using theory of change to evaluate information literacy initiativesSheila Webber
Workshop by Dr Pam McKinney and Sheila Webber, Information School, University of Sheffield, 11 April 2022, at the LILAC conference in Manchester, UK. Abstract: "Theory of Change (ToC) is a participative approach to evaluating the impact of projects, programmes and initiatives. Librarians and information professionals engaged in change processes, development projects and research studies can use ToC to generate evaluation data and articulate the impact of their activities, working closely with stakeholders such as students, academic staff, teachers and other professionals. The ToC process generates new understandings of how and why project successes have been achieved, and can form the basis of justifications for current and future funding. ToC has been widely used to evaluate the success and impact of projects in a variety of sectors (often community and public sector initiatives), and in educational development (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009) including Information Literacy initiatives (McKinney, 2014; McKinney, Jones & Turkington, 2011). In the version of the ToC process used in CILASS projects, stakeholders are asked to identify the drivers for change in the current situation; the longer term impact they envisage the project will have; the intermediate outcomes that the project is expected to achieve; activities that would need to be undertaken to achieve outcomes and enabling factors and resources required to support the project (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009). Stakeholders collaboratively design a Theory of Change poster that defines key project indicators and develops a causal narrative between project activities and outcomes. A plan and evaluation framework is then developed from these indicators, and stakeholders design data collection instruments. Connell & Kubisch (1998) have identified that a good ToC should be plausible, doable and testable."
Using Theories of Change to evaluate Information Literacy initiatives ECIL 20...Pamela McKinney
Workshop at the European Conference on Information Literacy 2021 Theories of Change (ToC) is a participative approach to evaluating the impact of projects, programmes and initiatives. Facilitators help stakeholders to construct ToC at the initial stages of the initiative, and support them in monitoring and in impact evaluation. ToC has been used to evaluate the success and impact of projects in a variety of sectors (often community and public sector initiatives; Mason & Barnes, 2007), and in educational development (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009) including Information Literacy initiatives (McKinney, 2014; McKinney, Jones & Turkington, 2011).
McKinney was part of the core team facilitating ToC evaluation of projects in the multi-million pound Centre for Inquiry Based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) project (McKinney, 2014) and Webber was a stakeholder involved in two projects and a CILASS Academic Fellow. In the version of the ToC process used in CILASS projects, stakeholders are asked to identify the drivers for change in the current situation; the longer term impact they envisage the project will have; the intermediate outcomes that the project is expected to achieve ; activities that would need to be undertaken to achieve outcomes and enabling factors and resources required to support the project (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009). Stakeholders collaboratively design a Theory of Change poster that defines key project indicators and develops a causal narrative between project activities and outcomes. A plan and evaluation framework is then developed from these indicators, and stakeholders design data collection instruments. Connell & Kubisch (1998) have identified that a good ToC should be plausible, doable and testable.
Objectives and outcomes for the Workshop
Objectives will be: (1) To explain ToC, its value and application (2) To enable participants to plan how they could use ToC to improve practice and impact.
By the end of the workshop participants will (1) understand what ToC involves; (2) have learnt the key steps in facilitating a ToC approach; and (3) will have identified how ToC could be used in their own workplace
Workshop outline
There will be five portions: (1) A presentation describing ToC, identifying why it is useful, giving examples and outlining the steps in the ToC process. (2) Participants will, individually, identify an project, intervention, activity or class where ToC could be used. (3) Participants will form small groups, briefly explain each of their projects (etc.) and choose one per group to focus on. (4) The groups will use prompt questions to start drawing up a ToC evaluation plan for their chosen project. (5) Sharing of ideas, and questions.
The target audience is anyone who wishes to evaluate projects, programmes, curricula or other initiatives.
Equipment should include presentation facilities, flipchart paper and pens. We propose a workshop of 90 minutes.
Using theories of change to evaluate information literacy initiatives Sheila Webber
Presented at the European Conference on Information Literacy, September 2021 by Dr Pamela McKinney and Sheila Webber
A video of this presentation is available at https://digitalmedia.sheffield.ac.uk/media/Using+Theories+of+Change+to+evaluate+Information+Literacy+initiatives/1_v1g05eav
Service Design: Thinking Holistically About Services and TechnologyRachel Vacek
In Spring 2017, our library started to transform how it designs and implements its virtual and physical services iteratively through user and staff engagement and service design thinking. Service design is a user-focused technique that involves understanding and planning for user needs, service touchpoints, and employee and user workflows. This presentation will use a case study to illustrate how we integrated user needs, current and future library services, and technology in the redesign of a web application and the service offering. Attendees will learn the basics of how to create a service blueprint.
Using theories of change to evaluate information literacy initiatives: LILAC ...Pamela McKinney
Theory of Change (ToC) is a participative approach to evaluating the impact of projects, programmes and initiatives. Librarians and information professionals engaged in change processes, development projects and research studies can use ToC to generate evaluation data and articulate the impact of their activities, working closely with stakeholders such as students, academic staff, teachers and other professionals. The ToC process generates new understandings of how and why project successes have been achieved, and can form the basis of justifications for current and future funding. ToC has been widely used to evaluate the success and impact of projects in a variety of sectors (often community and public sector initiatives), and in educational development (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009) including Information Literacy initiatives (McKinney, 2014; McKinney, Jones & Turkington, 2011).
McKinney was part of the core team facilitating ToC evaluation of projects in the multi-million pound Centre for Inquiry Based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) project (McKinney, 2014) and Webber was a stakeholder involved in two projects and a CILASS Academic Fellow. In the version of the ToC process used in CILASS projects, stakeholders are asked to identify the drivers for change in the current situation; the longer term impact they envisage the project will have; the intermediate outcomes that the project is expected to achieve; activities that would need to be undertaken to achieve outcomes and enabling factors and resources required to support the project (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009). Stakeholders collaboratively design a Theory of Change poster that defines key project indicators and develops a causal narrative between project activities and outcomes. A plan and evaluation framework is then developed from these indicators, and stakeholders design data collection instruments. Connell & Kubisch (1998) have identified that a good ToC should be plausible, doable and testable.
McKinney and Webber will bring their extensive experience of facilitating workshops, including previous workshops on ToC .
Objectives and outcomes for the Workshop
Objectives will be: (1) To explain ToC, its value and application (2) To enable participants to plan how they could use ToC to improve practice and impact.
By the end of the workshop participants will (1) understand what ToC involves; (2) have learnt the key steps in facilitating a ToC approach; and (3) will have identified how ToC could be used in their own workplace
Ensuring the Quality of Digital Content for Learning WebinarSETDA
This webinar shared strategies for ensuring the quality of digital content, including exploring the specific quality-control challenges and opportunities associated with open educational resources. The content of the webinar stemed from SETDA’s latest digital content policy brief, Ensuring the Quality of Digital Content for Learning. Presenters shared examples of state leadership regarding the vetting of digital content and an overview of state OER policies, now available via the State Education Policy Center. In addition, the webinar offered the opportunity for questions and comments regarding a range of policy and practice issues related to digital content.
Presenters included:
Lan Neugent, Interim Executive Director, SETDA
Reg Leichty, Founding Partner, Foresight Law + Policy
Barbara Soots, Open Educational Resources Program Manager, Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
For more information: http://www.setda.org/events/webinars/public-events/
In our expanding electronic world, librarians are increasingly asked to plan and manage digital projects. The challenge is articulating the scope of the project and providing a clear and succinct justification. This session outlines 5 key questions every manager must answer to define and justify any digital project:
• Why you are undertaking the project?
• What you want the project to achieve?
• For whom you are undertaking the project?
• When you will achieve it?
• How you will achieve it?
HE/Public Sector update with University of SouthamptonAbilityNet
A group from the University of Southampton share their learnings and approach to making accessibility improvements to courses, with the help of students themselves. Joining the webinar are:
Dr Sarah Fielding, Digital Learning Team Manager
Matthew Deeprose, Senior Learning Designer
Luke Searle, Learning Designer
Also speaking on the webinar are AbilityNet's Education and Workplace Relationship Manager, Helen Wickes, who provides a refresher about accessibility in the higher education and public sectors, and host Annie Mannion, AbilityNet’s Digital Communications Manager.
Find out more about AbilityNet's webinars at www.abilitynet.org.uk/webinars
Innovative approaches to public engagement atc 2020nado-web
COVID-19 social distancing recommendations and heightened awareness about equitable and inclusive public engagement have prompted regional development organizations to apply innovative, virtual approaches when gathering public input. This session explores how enhanced surveys, video tours, and interactive tools have been used to encourage public participation.
Trends, Tools, and Tactics for Better Library DesignElliot Felix
Webinar from October 2013 to Blended Librarians Group on the "Trends, Tools, and Tactics for Better Library Design" featuring trends on learning and research, tools from the learning space toolkit (www.learningspacetoolkit.org), and tips for putting them to work to improve your library's spaces, services, and staffing.
An institutional perspective on analytics that focusses on a particular tool developed using an agile methodology to visualise learner behaviours in MOOCs via Sankey diagrams.
A Challenge to Web Accessibility Metrics and Guidelines: Putting People and P...David Sloan
Paper given at W4A 2012 conference (www.w4a.info), discussing the potential influence of British Standard 8878 and the use of learner analytics to support accessibility policy and activity in large organisations.
User Experience Service showcase lightning talks - December 2018Neil Allison
The University of Edinburgh User Experience Service ran a showcase of recent projects on 5 December 2018. The session began with these lightning talks.
This presentation focuses on social knowledge management in libraries. It also discusses a case study of social KM in the public library of Vlissingen (The Netherlands).
The Surprising Strategy to Accomplish what Matters: Doing LessJacqueline L. Frank
Overwhelmed by your to-do list? If you are constantly saying ‘yes’ while dreaming of a future with a manageable workload, room for creativity, and time for self-care, this session is for you. Come learn strategies to employ minimalism at work, which brings clarity and focus to only the most essential items. Leave with an online toolkit including templates for saying no and communicating priorities, and practical methods for limiting scope creek, so you can accomplish what truly matters.
View the TOOLKIT: Doing Less to Accomplish what matters on Google Drive at bit.ly/Toolkit_DoingLess
Indulge Your Senses: Creating Sensory Spaces in LibrariesJacqueline L. Frank
Let’s challenge the status quo of library spaces, and dream about future spaces together. Come find out all the glorious details about why sensory spaces are the next big wave in libraries. We all learn differently and prefer different types of environments. Sensory spaces offer unique study and relaxation spaces in libraries, that help support neurodiversity, inclusivity, and accessibility by offering a range of sensory experiences. Some are high sensory environments, with a flood of colors, patterns, fidget toys, and tactile elements. Some are low sensory environments for people who prefer limited distractions, often with a muted color pallet and a minimalist aesthetic. We will cover why these spaces are beneficial, how they support different types of library users, and how to pitch the idea at your library. We’ll see an example of sensory spaces at the MSU Library, and hear from attendees who have sensory spaces in their own libraries. Then we will break out into groups, or individually, to create digital mood-boards (using Padlet) for high sensory, and/or low sensory spaces, before sharing all the sparkling ideas with the group. We will think big, and also brainstorm elements that could be pulled together on a limited, or zero-dollar budget. Walk away prepared to successfully advocate for new sensory spaces to library leadership, with specific ideas you can implement at our library.
More Related Content
Similar to Making Change from Within: Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning and Assessment
Using theory of change to evaluate information literacy initiativesSheila Webber
Workshop by Dr Pam McKinney and Sheila Webber, Information School, University of Sheffield, 11 April 2022, at the LILAC conference in Manchester, UK. Abstract: "Theory of Change (ToC) is a participative approach to evaluating the impact of projects, programmes and initiatives. Librarians and information professionals engaged in change processes, development projects and research studies can use ToC to generate evaluation data and articulate the impact of their activities, working closely with stakeholders such as students, academic staff, teachers and other professionals. The ToC process generates new understandings of how and why project successes have been achieved, and can form the basis of justifications for current and future funding. ToC has been widely used to evaluate the success and impact of projects in a variety of sectors (often community and public sector initiatives), and in educational development (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009) including Information Literacy initiatives (McKinney, 2014; McKinney, Jones & Turkington, 2011). In the version of the ToC process used in CILASS projects, stakeholders are asked to identify the drivers for change in the current situation; the longer term impact they envisage the project will have; the intermediate outcomes that the project is expected to achieve; activities that would need to be undertaken to achieve outcomes and enabling factors and resources required to support the project (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009). Stakeholders collaboratively design a Theory of Change poster that defines key project indicators and develops a causal narrative between project activities and outcomes. A plan and evaluation framework is then developed from these indicators, and stakeholders design data collection instruments. Connell & Kubisch (1998) have identified that a good ToC should be plausible, doable and testable."
Using Theories of Change to evaluate Information Literacy initiatives ECIL 20...Pamela McKinney
Workshop at the European Conference on Information Literacy 2021 Theories of Change (ToC) is a participative approach to evaluating the impact of projects, programmes and initiatives. Facilitators help stakeholders to construct ToC at the initial stages of the initiative, and support them in monitoring and in impact evaluation. ToC has been used to evaluate the success and impact of projects in a variety of sectors (often community and public sector initiatives; Mason & Barnes, 2007), and in educational development (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009) including Information Literacy initiatives (McKinney, 2014; McKinney, Jones & Turkington, 2011).
McKinney was part of the core team facilitating ToC evaluation of projects in the multi-million pound Centre for Inquiry Based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) project (McKinney, 2014) and Webber was a stakeholder involved in two projects and a CILASS Academic Fellow. In the version of the ToC process used in CILASS projects, stakeholders are asked to identify the drivers for change in the current situation; the longer term impact they envisage the project will have; the intermediate outcomes that the project is expected to achieve ; activities that would need to be undertaken to achieve outcomes and enabling factors and resources required to support the project (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009). Stakeholders collaboratively design a Theory of Change poster that defines key project indicators and develops a causal narrative between project activities and outcomes. A plan and evaluation framework is then developed from these indicators, and stakeholders design data collection instruments. Connell & Kubisch (1998) have identified that a good ToC should be plausible, doable and testable.
Objectives and outcomes for the Workshop
Objectives will be: (1) To explain ToC, its value and application (2) To enable participants to plan how they could use ToC to improve practice and impact.
By the end of the workshop participants will (1) understand what ToC involves; (2) have learnt the key steps in facilitating a ToC approach; and (3) will have identified how ToC could be used in their own workplace
Workshop outline
There will be five portions: (1) A presentation describing ToC, identifying why it is useful, giving examples and outlining the steps in the ToC process. (2) Participants will, individually, identify an project, intervention, activity or class where ToC could be used. (3) Participants will form small groups, briefly explain each of their projects (etc.) and choose one per group to focus on. (4) The groups will use prompt questions to start drawing up a ToC evaluation plan for their chosen project. (5) Sharing of ideas, and questions.
The target audience is anyone who wishes to evaluate projects, programmes, curricula or other initiatives.
Equipment should include presentation facilities, flipchart paper and pens. We propose a workshop of 90 minutes.
Using theories of change to evaluate information literacy initiatives Sheila Webber
Presented at the European Conference on Information Literacy, September 2021 by Dr Pamela McKinney and Sheila Webber
A video of this presentation is available at https://digitalmedia.sheffield.ac.uk/media/Using+Theories+of+Change+to+evaluate+Information+Literacy+initiatives/1_v1g05eav
Service Design: Thinking Holistically About Services and TechnologyRachel Vacek
In Spring 2017, our library started to transform how it designs and implements its virtual and physical services iteratively through user and staff engagement and service design thinking. Service design is a user-focused technique that involves understanding and planning for user needs, service touchpoints, and employee and user workflows. This presentation will use a case study to illustrate how we integrated user needs, current and future library services, and technology in the redesign of a web application and the service offering. Attendees will learn the basics of how to create a service blueprint.
Using theories of change to evaluate information literacy initiatives: LILAC ...Pamela McKinney
Theory of Change (ToC) is a participative approach to evaluating the impact of projects, programmes and initiatives. Librarians and information professionals engaged in change processes, development projects and research studies can use ToC to generate evaluation data and articulate the impact of their activities, working closely with stakeholders such as students, academic staff, teachers and other professionals. The ToC process generates new understandings of how and why project successes have been achieved, and can form the basis of justifications for current and future funding. ToC has been widely used to evaluate the success and impact of projects in a variety of sectors (often community and public sector initiatives), and in educational development (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009) including Information Literacy initiatives (McKinney, 2014; McKinney, Jones & Turkington, 2011).
McKinney was part of the core team facilitating ToC evaluation of projects in the multi-million pound Centre for Inquiry Based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) project (McKinney, 2014) and Webber was a stakeholder involved in two projects and a CILASS Academic Fellow. In the version of the ToC process used in CILASS projects, stakeholders are asked to identify the drivers for change in the current situation; the longer term impact they envisage the project will have; the intermediate outcomes that the project is expected to achieve; activities that would need to be undertaken to achieve outcomes and enabling factors and resources required to support the project (Hart, Dierks-O’Brien & Powell, 2009). Stakeholders collaboratively design a Theory of Change poster that defines key project indicators and develops a causal narrative between project activities and outcomes. A plan and evaluation framework is then developed from these indicators, and stakeholders design data collection instruments. Connell & Kubisch (1998) have identified that a good ToC should be plausible, doable and testable.
McKinney and Webber will bring their extensive experience of facilitating workshops, including previous workshops on ToC .
Objectives and outcomes for the Workshop
Objectives will be: (1) To explain ToC, its value and application (2) To enable participants to plan how they could use ToC to improve practice and impact.
By the end of the workshop participants will (1) understand what ToC involves; (2) have learnt the key steps in facilitating a ToC approach; and (3) will have identified how ToC could be used in their own workplace
Ensuring the Quality of Digital Content for Learning WebinarSETDA
This webinar shared strategies for ensuring the quality of digital content, including exploring the specific quality-control challenges and opportunities associated with open educational resources. The content of the webinar stemed from SETDA’s latest digital content policy brief, Ensuring the Quality of Digital Content for Learning. Presenters shared examples of state leadership regarding the vetting of digital content and an overview of state OER policies, now available via the State Education Policy Center. In addition, the webinar offered the opportunity for questions and comments regarding a range of policy and practice issues related to digital content.
Presenters included:
Lan Neugent, Interim Executive Director, SETDA
Reg Leichty, Founding Partner, Foresight Law + Policy
Barbara Soots, Open Educational Resources Program Manager, Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
For more information: http://www.setda.org/events/webinars/public-events/
In our expanding electronic world, librarians are increasingly asked to plan and manage digital projects. The challenge is articulating the scope of the project and providing a clear and succinct justification. This session outlines 5 key questions every manager must answer to define and justify any digital project:
• Why you are undertaking the project?
• What you want the project to achieve?
• For whom you are undertaking the project?
• When you will achieve it?
• How you will achieve it?
HE/Public Sector update with University of SouthamptonAbilityNet
A group from the University of Southampton share their learnings and approach to making accessibility improvements to courses, with the help of students themselves. Joining the webinar are:
Dr Sarah Fielding, Digital Learning Team Manager
Matthew Deeprose, Senior Learning Designer
Luke Searle, Learning Designer
Also speaking on the webinar are AbilityNet's Education and Workplace Relationship Manager, Helen Wickes, who provides a refresher about accessibility in the higher education and public sectors, and host Annie Mannion, AbilityNet’s Digital Communications Manager.
Find out more about AbilityNet's webinars at www.abilitynet.org.uk/webinars
Innovative approaches to public engagement atc 2020nado-web
COVID-19 social distancing recommendations and heightened awareness about equitable and inclusive public engagement have prompted regional development organizations to apply innovative, virtual approaches when gathering public input. This session explores how enhanced surveys, video tours, and interactive tools have been used to encourage public participation.
Trends, Tools, and Tactics for Better Library DesignElliot Felix
Webinar from October 2013 to Blended Librarians Group on the "Trends, Tools, and Tactics for Better Library Design" featuring trends on learning and research, tools from the learning space toolkit (www.learningspacetoolkit.org), and tips for putting them to work to improve your library's spaces, services, and staffing.
An institutional perspective on analytics that focusses on a particular tool developed using an agile methodology to visualise learner behaviours in MOOCs via Sankey diagrams.
A Challenge to Web Accessibility Metrics and Guidelines: Putting People and P...David Sloan
Paper given at W4A 2012 conference (www.w4a.info), discussing the potential influence of British Standard 8878 and the use of learner analytics to support accessibility policy and activity in large organisations.
User Experience Service showcase lightning talks - December 2018Neil Allison
The University of Edinburgh User Experience Service ran a showcase of recent projects on 5 December 2018. The session began with these lightning talks.
This presentation focuses on social knowledge management in libraries. It also discusses a case study of social KM in the public library of Vlissingen (The Netherlands).
Similar to Making Change from Within: Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning and Assessment (20)
The Surprising Strategy to Accomplish what Matters: Doing LessJacqueline L. Frank
Overwhelmed by your to-do list? If you are constantly saying ‘yes’ while dreaming of a future with a manageable workload, room for creativity, and time for self-care, this session is for you. Come learn strategies to employ minimalism at work, which brings clarity and focus to only the most essential items. Leave with an online toolkit including templates for saying no and communicating priorities, and practical methods for limiting scope creek, so you can accomplish what truly matters.
View the TOOLKIT: Doing Less to Accomplish what matters on Google Drive at bit.ly/Toolkit_DoingLess
Indulge Your Senses: Creating Sensory Spaces in LibrariesJacqueline L. Frank
Let’s challenge the status quo of library spaces, and dream about future spaces together. Come find out all the glorious details about why sensory spaces are the next big wave in libraries. We all learn differently and prefer different types of environments. Sensory spaces offer unique study and relaxation spaces in libraries, that help support neurodiversity, inclusivity, and accessibility by offering a range of sensory experiences. Some are high sensory environments, with a flood of colors, patterns, fidget toys, and tactile elements. Some are low sensory environments for people who prefer limited distractions, often with a muted color pallet and a minimalist aesthetic. We will cover why these spaces are beneficial, how they support different types of library users, and how to pitch the idea at your library. We’ll see an example of sensory spaces at the MSU Library, and hear from attendees who have sensory spaces in their own libraries. Then we will break out into groups, or individually, to create digital mood-boards (using Padlet) for high sensory, and/or low sensory spaces, before sharing all the sparkling ideas with the group. We will think big, and also brainstorm elements that could be pulled together on a limited, or zero-dollar budget. Walk away prepared to successfully advocate for new sensory spaces to library leadership, with specific ideas you can implement at our library.
Like many libraries, the MSU Library despaired at low turnout for our high prep, traditional workshops. Dismantling the old format, MSU Librarians switched it up with a series of 15 minute pop-in workshops. The new format reduced prep times and propagated waves of imagination in our instruction, reigniting librarian excitement. Let these creative ripples reach you, and come learn practical steps to try this approach at your library.
Instruction Strategies to Support Neurodivergent StudentsJacqueline L. Frank
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.29467.48169/1
This presentation will outline specific teaching strategies to better support neurodivergent students. Adapting our instructional approach as we learn more about neurodiversity is crucial to accommodate different learning needs. This presentation will share strategies for supporting students with ADHD, dyslexia, students on the autism spectrum, and other neurodivergent differences. We will discuss techniques ranging from providing outlines and timelines, offering content in different formats, gathering feedback from students, and utilizing helpful technology and resources on campus. Participants will be asked to share their own strategies, experiences, resources and tools, with opportunities to learn from each other. In addition to supporting neurodivergent students, these strategies ultimately help make instruction more accessible and inclusive to all students.
A workshop covering the following topics: Appreciating current awareness,
Examples of neurodiversity,
Identity language,
Mitigating stereotypes,
Challenges for neurodiverse individuals,
Challenges for neurotypical individuals who are interacting with neurodiverse individuals,
Practical advice in the classroom and in the workforce.
Maximize your impact, with minimal time and effort! It’s challenging to maintain accessibility awareness across organizations, especially with turnover and constant change. Even if it isn’t your primary responsibility, you can help make a difference. See one model of a training and awareness program, which has proved successful and sustainable over multiple years. The tiered approach ensures new employees are introduced to relevant accessibility best practices, offers ongoing training opportunities for all employees, and helps everyone maintain accessibility awareness. Come share your own ideas and leave with specific steps to develop a training program, or share with administrators, at your own organization.
Connecting Users with Disabilities to Accessibility Services with SpringshareJacqueline L. Frank
How can you connect users to the accessibility
resources they need, at the right time? Come see how
the Montana State University Library uses both
LibAnswers and LibGuides to facilitate accessibility
requests, and share accessibility resources with users.
Librarian at Sea: Lessons Learned During My Semester at SeaJacqueline L. Frank
Want to be a librarian on a ship, while traveling to multiple countries? Come learn about being a librarian for Semester at Sea. Hear about some differences and similarities to library life on land, a few insights about accessible instruction, and tips for how you might get on board.
Collaborating with Faculty to Develop a New Model of Library InstructionJacqueline L. Frank
With limited personnel, time, and resources, the MSU Library needed to get creative in our response to a growing number of instruction requests for a specific class. Hear how the library collaborated with faculty and instructors from that course to develop a new approach. See an overview of our new model to offer instructor training sessions on how to teach research in the classroom, which ultimately expanded our library instructional reach.
Trying to think of ways to save your students money while still providing quality content? This session will provide an overview of OER (Open Educational Resources) and how to implement it in an accessible, user-friendly way. We’ll show multiple examples of OER and UDL (Universal Design for Learning) best practices.
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Making Change from Within: Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning and Assessment
1. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Making Change from Within
Integrating Accessibility into
Strategic Planning and Assessment
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference
November 10, 2021
Jacqueline L. Frank, Instruction & Accessibility Librarian
Scott W. H. Young, User Experience & Assessment Librarian
Montana State University
2. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Hi!
Jacqueline Frank
Accessibility & UDL
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Public Services
Scott Young
UX & Assessment
Service Design
Professional Ethics
3. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Hi!
Jacqueline Frank
Accessibility & UDL
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Public Services
Scott Young
UX & Assessment
Service Design
Professional Ethics
4. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Outline & Introduction
5. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Outline
• Framing Questions
• Accessibility at MSU
• Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
• Strategic Planning in Action: Examples
• Successes & Challenges
• Conclusion: UX and accessibility work can fit in most
strategic plans
6. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Introduction
• Accessibility is more than compliance
• Commitment to professional values
• Barrier: the operational status quo
7. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Introduction, cont.
• How do we confront barriers, work within our
existing structures, and realize our values?
We offer one answer to that question.
8. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Introduction
• How do we confront barriers, work within our
existing structures, and realize our values?
• Understand context & systemic challenges
• Leverage Strategic planning: a common apparatus
• Our perspective: the Balanced Scorecard
• Adapt our approach at your institution
9. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Framing Questions
10. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Framing Questions
• What are the main barriers you face at your institution in
implementing accessibility?
• What is your library's culture of planning and assessment?
• Where is accessibility work happening in your library?
• How can this work be aligned—your projects, your library's
strategy, your university's mission?
11. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Main Takeaways for Today
• You may already be doing accessibility
• You may already have a strategic plan
• Our main takeaway: integrating accessibility into your
library's strategic plan can align interests and help you
accomplish accessibility
12. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Accessibility at
Montana State University
13. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Before A11y was in our Strategic Plan
• We already had the values, but not the plan
• Accessibility work was happening:
• Distributed and scattershot
• Under-the-radar
• Accessibility work often happens without, or outside
a strategic plan
• Sound familiar?
14. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Evolution of A11y Efforts at MSU Library
• DEI values as the foundation of Accessibility
• MSU Web Accessibility Policy: Compliance Standards
& Remediation Timeline
• Faculty Hiring with Accessibiligy Focus
• Accessible Content Strategy
• New Accessibility Projects
15. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
After A11y was in our Strategic Plan
We found the mechanisms of strategic planning can:
• Focus the work
• Identify leadership & areas of collaboration,
• Bring resources
• Increase awareness & tell the story
16. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Integrating Accessibility into
Strategic Planning
17. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
18. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
19. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
20. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
21. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
22. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Initiatives in Support of these Strategic Objectives
• Hiring an Accessibility Librarian
• Accessibility Testing for Digital Spaces
• Physical Space Accessibility Audit
• UX with students with disabilities
• Internal communications and reporting
23. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Strategic Planning in Action
Objectives, Measures, and Initiatives
Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting
24. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Measures:
• Physical ADA Compliance
• Digital Accessibility
Measures:
• Website UX
25. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Initiatives:
• 2.1a Physical Space Accessibility Audit
• 2.1b Accessibility Testing for Digital
Spaces
Initiatives:
• 1.1b Website UX with students with disabilities
(to be completed Spring 2022)
26. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Data Collection: Website UX
Timeline: to be conducted Spring 2022
• Students *will complete eight (8) tasks using the Library Web
site. Data to be collected: task success rate; pain points,
• Students *will complete a survey on usability, appearance,
loyalty, trust, & emotional response using the SUPR-Q &
SAM scale. Data to be collected: survey responses on
usability
• Compare to results from similar study in 2017
27. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Data Collection: Physical ADA Audit
Timeline: Spring – Summer, 2021
• Combined two tools:
• IFLA Access to libraries for persons with disabilities -
CHECKLIST
• Project Enable ADA Checklist
• Walked around the physical building to answer 125
different questions
28. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
IFLA Checklist: Example Questions
29. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Project Enable Checklist: Example Questions
30. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Analysis & Reporting: Physical ADA Audit
31. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Analysis & Reporting: Physical ADA Audit,2.
● Beyond compliance, we identified Forty-eight (48)
improvements in our project report:
○ Six (6) immediately completed
■ e.g. lower public printers & ensure adequate knee space
○ Forty-two (42) more costly or difficult:
■ e.g. Add Restroom to 1st floor because without power,
there are no accessible restrooms on the main level
32. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Analysis & Reporting: Physical ADA Audit,3.
● We completed the original initiative by conducting the
initial audit
● Moving forward: we plan to establish a new initiative,
to implement those improvements and track our
progress of over time, as our next strategic initiative.
33. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Data Collection: Digital Accessibility
Timeline: Spring 2020 – Spring 2022
• Using the built-in CMS accessibility checker, conduct website
inventory to identify all accessibility errors/tasks on library
webpages
• Created spreadsheet listing every webpage, and the number
of accessibility tasks
• Working to address accessibility errors/tasks on website
34. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Analysis & Reporting: Digital Accessibility
35. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Analysis & Reporting: Digital Accessibility 2.
36. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Successes and Challenges
37. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Successes
● An aligned approach to accessibility: administration,
librarian, staff, users
● Project planning can be structured into strategic planning
● Intentionally integrate accessibility into the strategic plan to
raise the visibility of the work—first awareness, then
resources.
● In sum: leverage the tools and priorities of strategic
planning to amplify accessibility work
38. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Challenges
● Strategic planning can be complicated
○ How is the plan administered? Who is responsible for the big
picture and all the different moving parts?
○ How big is the strategic plan? What is the organizational
capacity?
● Culture of planning and assessment can be variable
39. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Extending Accessibility
You can integrate accessibility into your strategic plan too!
40. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Extending Accessibility
• Accessibility can fit under many broad areas of a strategic
plan:
• Diversity, Equity, and/or Inclusion efforts
• Improving Physical Spaces
• Improving the User Experience
• Improving Digital Resources and/or the library website
• Supporting student information literacy
• Get creative!
41. Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning
Jacqueline L. Frank & Scott W. H. Young
Digital GLAM Spaces Conference 2021
Thank you!
Discussion Questions:
• What are the main barriers you face at your institution in
implementing accessibility?
• What is your library's culture of planning and assessment?
• Where is accessibility work happening in your library?
• How can this work be aligned—your projects, your library's
strategy, your university's mission?
Editor's Notes
Hi everyone, and welcome to our presentation on Making Change from Within: Integrating Accessibility into Strategic Planning and Assessment. We are happy to be with you today from the Montana State University Library in Bozeman, Montana.
I'm Jacqueline Frank, and I'm the Instruction and Accessibility Librarian. My focus is in advancing accessibility through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, by promoting Universal Design for Learning in our instruction efforts and public services.
Hi everyone, and I'm Scott Young. I’m the user experience and assessment librarian at MSU, so I focus on UX and assessment. I also do service design, and I think about professional ethics. So you can see that Jacquie and I are great collaborators for bringing together accessibility and assessment in our library, and we’re happy to be here today to talk to you about it.
To get us started today we'll go over a brief outline, and then pose some framing questions to think about throughout the rest of the presentation.
After the framing questions, we'll give an overview of the evolution of Accessibility efforts at the MSU Library, discuss how we've integrated accessibility into our Library Strategic Plan, show our strategic plan in action with specific examples of our initiatives and progress, talk about some of the challenges and limitations, and then leave you with some possible ideas of how UX and accessibility work can fit into many different areas of an institutions existing strategic plan, so that you have an idea of how you can do this at your various institutions.
But first, we'd like to acknowledge that accessibility is more than compliance—it’s a commitment to the professional values of access, diversity, and social responsibility. However, accessibility work often involves changing the status quo of operations, and many times barriers can get in the way of us from making change and realizing the promise of accessibility.
So how do we find actionable ways to confront these barriers, work within our existing structures, and realize our values? We’d like to offer one answer to that question.
By realizing that we operate within different contexts and complicated systemic challenges, and that we are necessarily working from within that context, we have taken advantage of our library strategic plan and used it as a mechanism to propel and assess our accessibility efforts. Strategic planning is a common apparatus within our higher education context, and we show how it can be used to advance accessibility and improve the user experience.
We will speak from our perspective of using the Balanced Scorecard, which is a specific structure for strategic plans, and share our strategies for making change from within, by integrating accessibility into library strategic planning and UX assessment efforts. Then to extend the reach, we will discuss how UX and accessibility work can fit into many different areas of various strategic plans.
As we start to move ahead, we’d like to offer a few framing questions to help prompt your thinking and to show where we are headed. We will also offer our conclusion up front here, so you can see where we will end up, and then we will connect the dots along the way.
As we start to move ahead, we’d like to offer a few framing questions to help prompt your thinking and to show where we are headed. We will also offer our conclusion up front here, so you can see where we will end up, and then we will connect the dots along the way.
So as we move forward, we would like you to keep in mind questions like:
What are the main barriers you face at your institution in implementing accessibility?
What is your library's culture of planning and assessment?
Where is accessibility work happening in your library?
How can this work be aligned—your projects, your library's strategy, your university's mission?
Our main takeaways for today, if we were to summarize our message, it would be that you may already be doing accessibility – you probably are, since you are here – and you may already have a strategic plan at your library that you may already be a part of. So our main takeaway is that by integrating accessibility into your library's strategic plan it can align interests and help you accomplish accessibility.
So now we are going to talk about how we have done that at our Library, and we’ll start by giving a very brief history of accessibility at Montana State University.
Before accessibility was officially tied to our Strategic Plan, we already had the values of DEI at our institution and in our library, but we didn't have a specific plan on how to execute on those values. That isn't to say that work wasn't already happening in these areas, because efforts were indeed already happening in various areas. However, that accessibly work was distributed and scattershot, or happening under the radar without much awareness from of others across the library. And mostly people had chosen to incorporate accessibility work because they wanted to or saw the importance, not because it was officially in their job description or duties.
This may sound familiar to you, and is a common place to be for many libraries and institutions. And that's ok, because accessibility work often happens without a strategic plan, or outside of a strategic plan.
However, we have found multiple benefits from tying accessibility initiatives directly to our strategic plan.
So how did we do that? Well, we already had expressed and written values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. So by considering that accessibility supports the foundation of DEI, combined with a new institution-wide web accessibility policy that outlined compliance standards, and specific dates on a multi-year timelines for meeting those standards, it created a need for leadership and dedicated time for accessibility work.
This led the MSU Library to fill a vacant faculty position, but with a new focus in accessibility. I was lucky enough to be hired for that position in February 2020, as the Instruction & Accessibility librarian, with a focus in helping our library meet the compliance standards and increasing the accessibility of our library instruction and public services.
Over the last two years part of that work included outlining an accessible content strategy, to support an internal Library Web Content Strategy, which had already been created for our library website.
So with this in mind, we’ve decided to tackle a few specific accessibility projects that support our internal content strategy, the MSU Web accessibility policy, and ultimately our institutional values. And We could have continued on, doing this work, knowing it’s meaningful and supports these areas and values.
Although we were also looking for ways to organize and report on the work, so we used strategic planning as an established mechanism to help us.
And we found that by integrating accessibility initiatives into our strategic plan, it helped focus the work, identify leadership and areas of collaboration, increase resources for the work, even just increased time and support, and ultimately increase awareness of these projects and tell the story of our efforts to improve accessibility, because progress reports on our strategic plan are periodically given to the entire library.
So now Scott is going to give a brief overview of what our library's strategic plan looks like, and then we will take a closer look at three specific accessibility projects we have identified as initiatives under the plan.
Now I’ll talk a little bit about how we have integrated our accessibility efforts into our strategic plan, and our library.
At our library, we used the Balanced Scorecard, which is a standard planning and assessment framework. What you are seeing here is the overall structure. It was developed with terminology such as technology and customer, and we adapted it to libraries. It has four main areas to see an organization strategy. None of them outweighs the other, and are all seen as co-equal in terms of importance. The purple is Internal Business, which we have rephrased to Internal Processes. There is Innovation & Learning, which we rephrased to be learning & growth, and the customer perspective we rephrased to the user perspective. Within each perspective, there are a number of goals or objectives that can help accomplish the main things your organization identifies as important under each heading. Then each objective gets one or more measures that helps demonstrate whether progress is being made towards the main goal. So it’s multifaceted, and this is just one high level view of it, and it can get pretty complicated which we will see in just a second.
Here is the balanced scorecard for the Montana State University Library. It’s a lot of text, and we will not go through every single one. But this shows the broad scope of strategic planning, and we’ll talk about our way of making accessibility work within this framework. However, strategic planning is all sort of similar, and there is a way to be flexible and adaptable and help accessibility find a way into it. Our way of creating this, we hired a consultant who joined our organization for a few months, and we had a collaborative, participatory process for co-authoring this strategic plan. So there was a a lot of opportunity to contribute to the plan, and see ourselves in the plan, and that helped us get accessibility in here in the first place.
So I’ll take us through step by step, for how accessibility fits into our plan. Here’s the mission that we articulated for the library: We support and advance teaching, learning, and research for Montana State University and the people of Montana by providing access to information and knowledge.
Then under the internal processes perspective, we articulated a goal saying: We will create useful, dynamic, and accessible digital and physical spaces. We articulated this goal, which then supports the mission from the internal processes perspective. We also were able to create these different parts of this goal, including accessibility, which we focus into and were able to put that into the plan, which creates all the possibility for developing accessibility within the strategic planning framework.
We also got creative under the user perspective, where as a strategic objective we said that users would interact with a welcoming and responsive physical and digital library environment. Even though accessibility doesn’t appear directly here, in our work we have interpreted welcoming and responsive to fall within an accessibility frame of mind, so this allows us to match our internal processes with what our users perceive. So we are connecting dots within our strategic plan, around accessibility.
The specific accessibility initiatives that have develed from this language, are that we have hired an Accessibility Librarian; we have started to conduct accessibility Testing for Digital Spaces; likewise with the physical spaces, we’ve conducted a Physical Space Accessibility Audit; we are conducting UX projects with students with disabilities; and we have a robust approach for internal communications and reporting.
Yeah, thanks Scott. So now we are going to dive a bit deeper into those few initiatives that Scott just mentioned, to look at the data we've collected, and how we are analyzing and reporting out on our progress.
Our strategic plan also identifies what we'd like to measure for each objective. Under the objective to create useful, dynamic, and accessible digital and physical spaces, our measures include Physical ADA Compliance, and Digital Accessibility. And under the objective to have users interact with a welcoming and responsive physical and digital library environment, our measures include Website UX.
Under those measures, we've identified three specific accessibility projects as initiatives for our strategic plan. Those include 1) conducting a Physical Space Accessibility Audit, and 2) Accessibility Testing for Digital Spaces to meet compliance standards, which involves testing, identifying, and addressing accessibility improvements on our website, and 3) conducting a website user experience project with students with disabilities.
So let's take a look at the data we've collected, and how we are analyzing and reporting out on it.
We are planning to conduct a project on website user experience with students with disabilities, and are planning to collect data in the spring of 2022. We will ask participants to complete eight (8) tasks using the Library Web site, and the data we will collect will be the task success rate, and pain points that users express or are observed. We will also ask participants to complete a survey on usability, appearance, loyalty, trust, & emotional response using the SUPR-Q & SAM scale. The data we will collect from that portion will be their survey responses on usability. We will then compare the results from similar study in 2017 to identify themes, recommended improvements, and next steps.
For the physical ADA compliance audit we conducted, we used two tools specific to libraries to walk around our building and answer 125 different questions related to space requirements.
This slide shows an example of what the IFLA Access to Libraries for Persons with Disabilities Checklist looks like, with bulleted lists of questions broken out into various sections of the library..
And this is an example of what the Project Enable ADA Library Accessibility Checklist looks like, which is outlined in more of a spreadsheet view again broken out into different sections, but with columns for comments, and a clear yes/no answer of if it meets compliance.
We created our own, combined spreadsheet, with all 125 questions that were compiled from the two tools. We also identified five (5) levels of compliance that we will use to track our progress over time: 1) meets compliance; 2) meets minimum compliance but an improvement was identified, 3) meets minimum compliance and an improvement was already completed (which helps track our improvements over time) - those three all make up the first chart on the left. Level 4) is does not meet compliance but we provide an alternative accommodation, which is the middle chart, and level 5) does not meet compliance, with notes about what needs to be done to improve it. Laying out the number of items in each of these categories in these three charts helps show that we are almost fully compliant, and the few items where we are not are due to an old building with a split-level first floor.
Beyond compliance, we identified Forty-eight (48) improvements in our project report, six (6) of which we immediately completed. For example, lowering our public printers to ensure adequate knee space underneath. The remaining forty-two (42) are more costly or difficult, for example adding a restroom to 1st floor because without power, there are no accessible restrooms on the main level.
We completed the original 2.1a initiative by simply conducting the audit. However, moving forward we plan to outline a new initiative, to implement the improvements and track our progress of over time.
For our iniative to test our digital spaces for accessibility, namely the library website, we are using an accessibility checker that is build into our website CMS. This allows us to conduct a website inventory of each webpage, and identify all accessibility errors/tasks on those webpages. So we have created a spreadsheet listing every webpage, and the number of accessibility tasks on each page, and we are working to address any accessibility errors/tasks we find on the website.
That spreadsheet looks something like this, with the page URL listed, who created or updates the page content, and if there are any accessibility errors or improvements.
Then we summarize the results of that table into a few final charts. The CMS inventory chart shows that we have looked at all webpages across our library website, and the CMS Accessibility Tasks chart shows the number of errors or tasks identified and how many have been completed.
So now that we've seen some of the nuts and bolts of these three initiatives, including the data we're collecting and tracking, and how we are reporting on our progress, Scott is going to talk about some of the successes and challenges along the way.
I’m going to summarize what we have seen as success and challenges to strategic planning. When we encourage you to think about incorporating accessibility into your own strategic planning, we are thinking of Strategic planning at the highest levels which can be thought of as setting goals, and measuring progress. If your goal at your university or library is to implement accessibility, the strategic planning framework can help you do that. So we’ll see what we’ve seen go well, and what could be better.
We’ve seen that project planning can be structured into strategic planning. There are ways to be creative and interpretive within the strategic planning framework, so discrete accessibility projects can be integrated into the broader framework, which can help make forward progress. Then intentionally integrate accessibility into the strategic plan, can raise the visibility of the work. We’ve seen that first there is an awareness, then resources come from that awareness. That can be incredible valuable for getting accessibly work done, just getting resources behind it. We’ve created a new position in our library, in that sense we have a budget behind accessibility which is really awesome. Jacquie, as a part of her work in that role, regularly updates the library about accessibility progress, so people are thinking about it, Jacquie is activating people throughout the library through workshops and other trainings, and so accessibility work is really happening, and then it’s been sort of credited through strategic planning. To summarize, leveraging the tools and priorities of strategic planning can amplify accessibility work.
This approach is not without its challenges. Strategic planning can be complicated, which we referenced earlier, but there is a complexity to it with so many stakeholder interests and perspectives. That is sort of the other side of the coin of alignment, which is the work of actually aligning all of those different perspectives. Accessibility is just one part of a broader plan, so there are questions about how the ia plan administered, and who is responsible for the big picture and all the different moving parts? Accessibility may be one part of the broader plan, so how does your accessibility work fit in and correspond to the other parts. How big is the strategic plan, and what is the organizational capacity to fulfil the strategic objectives that have been identified? You saw above that we have several goals articulated. We have a seven (7) year plan, so we try to create a prioritization where we identify a subset of goals to focus on for a certain year, so there is some additional work there to see if and where accessibility falls within those priorities. This all to say that the culture of planning assessment can be variable. There can be different organizational interests and capacities to actually do this work, but if the capacity is there, and a strategic planning framework, then there can be some big wins for accessibility.
Before we leave, we also want to make it clear how you can do this at your library. Going back to our main takeaways: that you may already be doing accessibility work, you may already have a strategic plan, and by integrating accessibility into your library's strategic plan it can align interests and help you accomplish your accessibility goals, we'd like to offer some examples of how you might be able to integrate accessibility into your strategic plan.
We've shown you just one example of how we used our library strategic plan to do this, which has worked well for us. But that's only one strategic plan, and we already had accessibility written into it explicitly. So what if you already have a strategic plan, that does not include accessibility? How can you integrate accessibility anyway, and tie it to the existing plan? We believe that accessibility can fit under many broad areas that might already be in your institutions strategic plan, including Diversity, Equity, and/or Inclusion efforts, Improving Physical Spaces, Improving the User Experience, Improving Digital Resources and/or the library website, supporting student information literacy, and more. Bottom line, get creative or brainstorm with someone else, because there is likely a place that accessibility can fit.
Thank you for joining us today, and we hope you have found our presentation useful.
We'd like to offer the framing questions again as a place to start our discussion. What are the main barriers you face at your institution in implementing accessibility? What is your library's culture of planning and assessment? Where is accessibility work happening in your library? How can this work be aligned—your projects, your library's strategy, your university's mission?
With that, what are your thoughts, and what questions do you have for us?