‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds

This research investigates the accessibility of Ontario public libraries’ social media feeds. Social media plays an important role in how public libraries engage with their communities. This patron engagement outside of library-maintained websites, raises questions around accessibility for persons w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPartnership Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 1 - 14
Main Authors Hill, Heather, Oswald, Kevin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published The Partnership 05.07.2023
Subjects
accessibility
disability
public libraries
screen reader
social media
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Summary:This research investigates the accessibility of Ontario public libraries’ social media feeds. Social media plays an important role in how public libraries engage with their communities. This patron engagement outside of library-maintained websites, raises questions around accessibility for persons with disabilities. Given the increasing usage of social media as a communication mechanism, how accessible are Ontario public library social media feeds? Of specific interest here is the use of alternative text (alt text) attributed to images posted on Ontario public libraries’ social media posts. Findings indicate a dearth of alt text on social media feeds. Suggestions are made for creating good alt text in order to create a more equitable environment.
ISSN:1911-9593
1911-9593
DOI:10.21083/partnership.v18i1.7008