‘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...
Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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The Partnership
2023-07-01
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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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first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:03:58Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-799942e3f6c748da84bd481eb51c64f7 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1911-9593 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:03:58Z |
publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
publisher | The Partnership |
record_format | Article |
series | Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research |
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 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT heatherhill maybeapictureofadogandabooktheinaccessibilityofpubliclibrarysocialmediafeeds AT kevinoswald maybeapictureofadogandabooktheinaccessibilityofpubliclibrarysocialmediafeeds |