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Posts tagged with Accessibility in Blog Library Tech Talk

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 items
Two screenshots of the Plain Language Medical Dictionary before the updates showcasing the features of searching the dictionary by a single word or by paragraphs of text.
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  • Josh Salazar
Bringing Images and an Accessibility Focus to the Plain Language Medical Dictionary
In 2024, updates to the Plain Language Medical Dictionary (PLMD) included big improvements for accessibility and user experience, plus adding support for images. We fixed contrast issues, unclear icons, and missing labels to meet WCAG 2.1. Search also got smoother, and instructions are now clearer. In addition, we added image support with JSON updates for URLs and alt text. With our legacy hosting environment shutting down, we moved the PLMD moved to GitHub Pages as part of the project. This provides better stability and automatic updates via GitHub Actions.
A table with only 2 rows but the screen reader says “entering 420 results table” instead.
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  • Heidi Burkhardt
Accessibility Remediation in Action on Our Library Website
As part of a broader product accessibility initiative in Library Information Technology, the team behind the library’s website undertook a number of remediation efforts based on the findings of the site’s baseline accessibility evaluation. The work demonstrates how accessibility remediation can also be an opportunity for code clean-up, usability improvements, and refreshing design elements.
Delicious looking cake with a piece missing.
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  • Ben Howell
'Baking in' digital accessibility at the Library: Services and experiences from the U-M Library Digital Accessibility Team (DAT)
Web accessibility is a key ingredient to successful product development that can make or break many peoples’ experience. The U-M Library Digital Accessibility Team (DAT) helps library teams 'bake in' web accessibility from the beginning of their projects and helps coordinate accessibility work across the Library. Read about DAT's services and how collaboration with teams and staff across the library has led to improved products and services for our Library staff, faculty and students.
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  • Ken Varnum
U-M Library Search is Live
The new University of Michigan Library Search interface, the discovery interface for library resources at the U-M Library, was launched on July 30, 2018.
A comparison between a text editor filled with buttons and one with far fewer options.
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  • Colin Smith Fulton
Web Accessibility, Part 2: Who Took Away My Tables?!
If you really love something you might have to let it go.
Person sitting at a desk using screen magnification software.
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  • Colin Smith Fulton
Web Accessibility, Part 1: How Do You Internet?
The University of Michigan Library is working hard to improve the accessibility of all our websites. This brings up a simple question: what does it mean to make a website accessible?