Accessibility in MetaLib User Interface

• Article Type: General
• Product: MetaLib
• Product Version: 3

Description:
We have just gone live with MetaLib. I'm getting questions about accessibility with screen readers, etc. Has anyone else had to deal
with this?

Resolution:
MetaLib 3.13 contains some screens that are not fully accessible when using assistive technologies such as screen readers and voice-activated applications.

Last year, in collaboration with Metalib users, we launched a special
project to review our accessibility compliance and create new guidelines
for fully accessible interfaces to all our products. As a result of this
effort our next MetaLib release, version 4.00, will include new
developments to achieve our overall objective at Ex Libris: information
that is accessible to as many people as possible regardless of the
challenges that they face.

Specifically, our MetaLib 4.00 user interface will address:

- Accessibility - Section 508 Compliance
- Usability - JAWS, Dragon, wide range of browsers
- HTML, CSS Validity - HTML 4.01 Transitional, CSS 2.0
- Simplicity - 'lighten' HTML, reduce use of JavaScript
- Ease of Customization - reduce MetaLib's total cost of ownership (TCO)