‘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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Heather Hill, Kevin Oswald
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Partnership 2023-07-01
Series:Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/7008
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author Heather Hill
Kevin Oswald
author_facet Heather Hill
Kevin Oswald
author_sort Heather Hill
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj.art-799942e3f6c748da84bd481eb51c64f72023-07-06T09:00:03ZengThe PartnershipPartnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research1911-95932023-07-0118110.21083/partnership.v18i1.7008‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media FeedsHeather Hill0Kevin Oswald1University of Western OntarioUniversity of Western Ontario 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. https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/7008public librariessocial mediaaccessibilityscreen readerdisability
spellingShingle Heather Hill
Kevin Oswald
‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds
Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research
public libraries
social media
accessibility
screen reader
disability
title ‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds
title_full ‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds
title_fullStr ‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds
title_full_unstemmed ‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds
title_short ‘May Be a Picture of a Dog and a Book’: The Inaccessibility of Public Library Social Media Feeds
title_sort may be a picture of a dog and a book the inaccessibility of public library social media feeds
topic public libraries
social media
accessibility
screen reader
disability
url https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/7008
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