Versions of WCAG and Accessibility of Library Web-­Content

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze of the current state of accessibility of library web content in accordance with the principles of the standards Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 from 2008 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1. from 2018.Research methodology. The methods of webometric analysis have been applied during the research.Results. The analysis of 177 websites of national libraries around the world for compliance with WCAG 2.0 guidelines was conducted. Based on the use of the web accessibility evaluation tool Achecker, 151 websites of national libraries have been successfully tested. It was determined that 29 of them (19%) are fully consistent, 3 are partially consistent, 119 are not compliant with the accessibility recommendations according to WCAG 2.0 at levels A, AA and AAA. There was no possibility to evaluate the 26 websites national libraries by AChecker. It appears that current state of accessibility of websites of national libraries, portals of electronic libraries and other digital project are insufficient to offer an equitable experience to individuals with disabilities. Additional seventeen success criteria in WCAG 2.1 are analyzed. The WCAG 2.1 offers an opportunity for libraries to improve accessibility practices, involve users with special needs to testing processes library recourses. Novelty of this paper consists in the focuses on the need to introduce a permanent audit of library web content accessibility by automatically testing and including an audience of users with special needs.The practical significance. The practical significance consists in considering the accessibility as part of the digital collections development, method testing accessibility internal databases, digital libraries, websites, other electronic resources and digital project.