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1 – 10 of 80CELA, the Centre for Equitable Library Access, is a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to support public libraries in providing accessible collections for…
Abstract
Purpose
CELA, the Centre for Equitable Library Access, is a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to support public libraries in providing accessible collections for Canadians with print disabilities and to champion the fundamental right of Canadians with print disabilities to access media and reading materials in the format of their choice. This paper aims to examine the history of the organization, the events that led to its creation, the issues with which it has and continues to struggle with – political, technological, structural – and the successes it has enjoyed.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case study intended shine light on the development of a service sorely lacking in Canadian public libraries – consistent and sustainable publicly funded access to reading materials for Canadians with print disabilities – by providing related history and context and outlining current and future offerings.
Findings
The decision to centralize a service that most public libraries struggled to deliver within their own capacities was wise and has greatly benefited Canadians with print disabilities.
Originality/value
This paper provides a profile in determination, collaboration and the value of inclusivity in public libraries.
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Samuel Macharia, Japheth Otike and Emily K. Bosire
The purpose of this paper is to explore the copyright law in relation to access to information by persons with visual impairments. It assesses the barriers placed by the copyright…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the copyright law in relation to access to information by persons with visual impairments. It assesses the barriers placed by the copyright law on access to information by the visually impaired persons, and then the exceptions and limitations therein with a specific focus on Marrakesh treaty. It further explores the benefits conveyed by the Marrakesh treaty in relation to the challenges. Finally, the paper makes suggestions on methods that can be employed to make the Marrakesh treaty benefit the persons with visual impairments to the fullest.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the copyright law and its requirements in relation to reproduction of copyrighted works, and then narrows down to the provisions of Marrakesh treaty as an exception in the copyright law. It then reviews existing literature on the challenges caused by copyright requirements on access to information by persons with visual impairments. Having looked at these two aspects, the paper then identifies from literature the benefits that come in the Marrakesh treaty in relation to access to copyrighted information by persons with visual impairments. Authors finally give their views on what can be done to make the treaty more beneficial to the visually impaired persons.
Findings
The paper finds that a there are many challenges that persons with visual impairments face while they seek to access information that is copyrighted, and these challenges cause both direct and indirect negative effects. However, looking at the provisions of the Marrakesh treaty against these challenges, the paper identifies the benefits that come with the treaty to avert the challenges.
Originality/value
This paper does an in-depth analysis of the copyright-related challenges that persons with visual impairments face while accessing copyrighted information, and derives solutions to these challenges from the Marrakesh treaty. The paper will be helpful to the librarians to make sure that none of their users continue to suffer from those challenges in this era of the Marrakesh treaty. The methods suggested herein for reaping as much as possible from the Marrakesh treaty will be beneficial to information managers toward fashioning ways of ensuring that persons with visual impairments are able to access information freely and easily.
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Subhajit Panda and Rupak Chakravarty
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the status of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) conformance levels (A, AA, AAA) and accessibility status in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the status of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) conformance levels (A, AA, AAA) and accessibility status in terms of Severity (Error, Warning and Review) and Responsibility (Editor, Webmaster and Developer) of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Library websites based on Siteimprove Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform.
Design/methodology/approach
The library websites of IITs were tested using Siteimprove web-tool to gather details pertaining to W3C's WCAG 2.1 standards. The data thus obtained were then visualized using spreadsheet software for greater insight. A partial correlation test was also done to assess the relationship between the three conformance levels.
Findings
The study could identify significant accessibility-related limitations of the IIT library websites concerning the three WCAG 2.1 conformance levels A (max IIT Bombay), AA (max IIT Dhanbad (ISM)) and AAA (max IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Varanasi (BHU)), Severity and Responsibility. A positive linear relationship exists amongst these conformance levels. The mean value of conformance levels were found to be 18.3 (A), 2.2 (AA) and 3.1 (AAA); Severity scores were found to be 14.4 (Error), 3.9 (Warning) and 5.2 (Review); and Responsibility scores were found to be 6 (Editor), 9.3 (Webmaster) and 8.3 (Developer), respectively.
Practical implications
The study highlights the comparative picture of accessibility issues and conformance levels of the IITs' library website homepage with the help of results derived/based on Siteimprove Accessibility Checker. The findings of the study reveal that though the library website of IITs' in India possess a well-designed and easily navigable website homepage as far as their accessibility for VIPs is concerned, there are several issues that are still to be resolved.
Social implications
World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Marrakesh VIP Treaty (MVT) and the W3C's WCAG cater to the requirements and rights of the persons with vision-related disability of accessing information and knowledge building a steeper and deeper knowledge divide. Identifying and rectifying the shortcomings in the library websites will bridge the accessibility-divide and make the society more inclusive.
Originality/value
No previous study could be identified evaluating the accessibility issues of the library website of Indian IITs focussed on vision-disabled persons using Siteimprove. The methodology and approach of this paper have value in terms of reusability and reproducibility facilitating future studies.
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This paper aims to review the literature on assistive technologies used in libraries and in schools, as portrayed on blogs, wikis and the internet, of the past year to highlight…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the literature on assistive technologies used in libraries and in schools, as portrayed on blogs, wikis and the internet, of the past year to highlight new trends.
Design/methodology/approach
Reports from blogs, internet sources and databases of the past year on the topic were read by dealing with practical examples of assistive technologies in libraries and the education sector.
Findings
Assistive technologies are used to aid persons with disabilities to make them more productive. The technologies can be either low- or high-tech, depending on the use as well as on information on new improvements and augmentative technologies being employed.
Originality/value
This paper presents an overview of the past year and the current trends in the use of assistive technologies in libraries and schools worldwide.
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The aim of the paper is to describe the development of OhioLINK – a world famous US consortium – and the issues that it currently faces as well as its responses.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to describe the development of OhioLINK – a world famous US consortium – and the issues that it currently faces as well as its responses.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a descriptive approach.
Findings
The paper suggests that information use simply breeds more information use, and OhioLINK contributes to its users' educational activities through access to and use of the documents and information resources which it supplies. It provides a set of priorities and initiatives for consideration
Originality/value
The paper provides valuable insights into the workings of a leading resource sharing consortium of libraries.
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The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze what is known regarding activity-based costing (ABC) applications in the context of supply chain management (SCM). The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze what is known regarding activity-based costing (ABC) applications in the context of supply chain management (SCM). The authors present a reference framework for practical implications and areas for future research in intra-firm and inter-organizational environments.
Design/methodology/approach
The findings underlie a systematic review methodology. Research gaps and guidance for further publications are derived from the reference framework based on ABC and SCM literature.
Findings
The review illustrates four main areas for further research: determination of the role of management accounting in SCM (including supply chain finance), integration of time-driven ABC with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and automatic data collection, analysis of inter-organizational management tools in supply chains in multiple negotiation rounds, and standardization of cost accounting data in supply chains.
Practical implications
The review provides practitioners with three main recommendations: ABC applications require a solid data basis, organizational readiness, commitment from senior management, and an ABC management philosophy; open book accounting for inter-organizational cost information-sharing purposes needs institutional arrangements and economic incentive systems; and sharing costs and benefits among supply chain members requires a change of managers’ mind-set.
Originality/value
This paper reveals practical implications and provides new directions for research based on the reference framework. The paper contributes to the interdisciplinary topic between SCM and management accounting by providing a structured overview of 87 peer-reviewed articles from 1992 to 2016.
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Suzanne L. Byerley, Mary Beth Chambers and Mariyam Thohira
Web‐based research databases are common in today's libraries, but most librarians lack the ability to evaluate them for accessibility for persons with disabilities. Consequently…
Abstract
Purpose
Web‐based research databases are common in today's libraries, but most librarians lack the ability to evaluate them for accessibility for persons with disabilities. Consequently, they rely upon resource providers to develop products that are ADA and Section 508 compliant. Are database vendors stepping up to the plate? As a follow‐up to a study reported in 2003, the purpose of this paper is to investigate accessibility of online databases from database vendors' perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers used a web‐based questionnaire to gather information from vendors of online databases concerning the accessibility of their products. The questions covered general information about product accessibility, compliance with Section 508 standards, and product accessibility/usability testing.
Findings
Nearly all of the companies who participated in the survey consider their products to be mostly accessible to users of assistive technologies and are committed to improving product accessibility in the future. At the same time, few companies promote accessibility in their marketing efforts. Most companies test their products for accessibility, but few conduct usability tests with actual persons with disabilities.
Research limitations/implications
This study covered a small sample of database vendors and relied on self‐reporting by representatives from database companies. Until usability testing becomes a standard practice, product testing by independent parties is necessary to complete the accessibility report cards for online library database providers.
Practical implications
Librarians must be proactive in encouraging vendors to continue to provide products that are accessible and user‐friendly for everybody including persons with disabilities.
Originality/value
This is the second known study that examines online database accessibility and usability based on database vendors' perspectives.
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Tessa Withorn, Jillian Eslami, Hannah Lee, Maggie Clarke, Carolyn Caffrey, Cristina Springfield, Dana Ospina, Anthony Andora, Amalia Castañeda, Alexandra Mitchell, Joanna Messer Kimmitt, Wendolyn Vermeer and Aric Haas
This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2020.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of all 440 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested in a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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Seán Kerins and Kirrily Jordan
The historian Patrick Wolfe reminds us that the settler colonial logic of eliminating native societies to gain unrestricted access to their territory is not a phenomenon confined…
Abstract
The historian Patrick Wolfe reminds us that the settler colonial logic of eliminating native societies to gain unrestricted access to their territory is not a phenomenon confined to the distant past. As Wolfe (2006, p. 388) writes, “settler colonizers come to stay: invasion is a structure not an event.” In the Gulf of Carpentaria region in Australia’s Northern Territory this settler colonial “logic of elimination” continues through mining projects that extract capital for transnational corporations while contaminating Indigenous land, overriding Indigenous law and custom and undermining Indigenous livelihoods. However, some Garawa, Gudanji, Marra, and Yanyuwa peoples are using creative ways to fight back, exhibiting “story paintings” to show how their people experience the destructive impacts of mining. We cannot know yet the full impact of this creative activism. But their body of work suggests it has the potential to challenge colonial institutions from below, inspiring growing networks of resistance and a collective meaning-making through storytelling that is led by Indigenous peoples on behalf of the living world.
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