Universal Accessibility Interest Group

Hi Jerry, 

Thank you for sharing this call for questions. I've been following this closely, especially because many folks expect a similar update to title III in the near future, as well. I would love to know the answers to the all of the questions you pose- but the biggest questions for me are around how to classify library database collections. The rule makes it very clear that the responsibility is still ours, even though these are contracted / third party resources. I think it's fairly clear (but I'd love to know if I'm wrong!) that content (articles / books) published before the deadline in databases probably does not need to be fully compliant, but in all my reading of the rule, it wasn't clear if new content in databases after the deadline would need to be compliant. I'd love clarity on this because as we talk to our vendors, the clear expectation will be very helpful. Thank you!

We'll absolutely get that into our question mix! Many thanks for the contribution!!!

Totally agree that this is a crux issue for libraries. Interestingly, after a few dives into the full regulation, I flip-flopped in opinion, but came to the opposite conclusion.

For what it's worth, here is my read (with the "I'm definitely not an attorney" acknowledgement that I could well be misreading the regulation). 

Section 35.201 (page 54 of the full regulation pdf) is the summary of the rule's Exceptions.

Subpart (c) says that third party content contributed "due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the public entity" is not exempt so I'd take it that third-party databases are not exempt from the rule in general.

The previous subpart (b) states that preexisting conventional electronic documents (database article pdfs) available before the deadline are exempt, "unless such documents are currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in the public entity's services, programs, or activities." (emphasis added)

I'm really curious how they want us to interpret that last chunk of the sentence. My read is that research is participating in a library's services and activities, thus all material used for research would have to be accessible down the line. 

There are a lot of great examples buried in the regulation's nearly 300 pages, but I don't quite find them illuminating enough, which is why I'm really looking forward to this session.

This should all be interesting!

Many thanks again!!!

Jerr

Hi Jerry, 

Thank you for sharing this call for questions. I've been following this closely, especially because many folks expect a similar update to title III in the near future, as well. I would love to know the answers to the all of the questions you pose- but the biggest questions for me are around how to classify library database collections. The rule makes it very clear that the responsibility is still ours, even though these are contracted / third party resources. I think it's fairly clear (but I'd love to know if I'm wrong!) that content (articles / books) published before the deadline in databases probably does not need to be fully compliant, but in all my reading of the rule, it wasn't clear if new content in databases after the deadline would need to be compliant. I'd love clarity on this because as we talk to our vendors, the clear expectation will be very helpful. Thank you!

Thank you for posting this, Jerry and for sharing your questions. Is it safe to assume that faculty and others will need to adhere to these standards for documents uploaded to an LMS that is password protected? Is this something that could be addressed in the session? I know it's not specific library-related, but I know some of us teach credit-bearing courses and/or are embedded in courses so this may come up for a variety of materials and documents outside of databases. 

Thanks!

I'm so sorry to see that I missed this session!  There is some debate at my library over whether we'll need to ensure that all of the databases we subscribe to (and the content therein) are accessible - Jerry, did you get an answer to your 3rd question? (I.e. Because a library's primary activity is research, would it be correct to say that older online research materials, such as academic journal articles, could not be exempt under the preexisting conventional electronic documents exemption because they are "used to ... gain access to, or participate in the public entity's services, programs, or activities"?)

Hi! Sorry I missed your message until now.

In relation to Q3 - we're all still learning , but here is my understanding so far as a fellow web services librarian - and not a lawyer or policy expert...

• All databases we create or license will need to accessible - research is part of our primary activity.
  • We'll likely need to leverage our licensing contracts to enforce this.
  • If a database is not compliant by the deadline, we'll likely need to drop the database and/or find accessible alternatives.
  • However, if dropping a particular database would create a major negative impact to how the library (or its parent entity) was able to fulfill its primary activities, then a hardship case could be argued to keep it.
    • for example, if a research database was needed as part of a college academic program keeping its accreditation.
    • There would still have to be robust mechanisms in place for students to request accessible versions of PDFs from the database.
      • Here again, we'll likely need language in our contracts that allow us to remediate the database content on an as needed basis (as contracts can override copyright protections that allow for this remediation).
    • My understanding is that any arguments for hardship would likely take place in court if the entity were to get sued over the inaccessible materials.
• Materials not part of our active primary activities - ie pre-existing electronic documents of board of trustees meeting minutes in the university archives that were created before the deadline - could remain untouched. 
  • • However, if the document becomes actively used after the deadline - such as the archival materials being used for class reading or if the document becoming part of a modern online exhibit- then the documents would need to be brought up to specs.

Again, that's just my understanding from everything I've heard/read so far. 

For specific questions, the DOJ does have an ADA Info Line that was recommended.

A group of us who attended the webinar are submitting proposals for ALA Annual about the rules (both a conference session and an in-depth preconference workshop). 

We're also about to create a series of Frequently Asked Questions about the rules that we'll publish on an upcoming ALA website entirely about accessibility**.

Finally, we're hoping to create or use an existing outlet for online conversation about the rules. An ALA Connect or a Slack channel are a couple possible venues.

cheers!
Jerr

** The accessibility site shell is almost finished and we'll start adding content in October. Not sure yet when a public beta of the site will be available, but we plan to improve it iteratively with hopefully monthly releases of new content.

I'm so sorry to see that I missed this session!  There is some debate at my library over whether we'll need to ensure that all of the databases we subscribe to (and the content therein) are accessible - Jerry, did you get an answer to your 3rd question? (I.e. Because a library's primary activity is research, would it be correct to say that older online research materials, such as academic journal articles, could not be exempt under the preexisting conventional electronic documents exemption because they are "used to ... gain access to, or participate in the public entity's services, programs, or activities"?)

Hi! Sorry I missed your message until now.

In relation to Q3 - we're all still learning , but here is my understanding so far as a fellow web services librarian - and not a lawyer or policy expert...

• All databases we create or license will need to accessible - research is part of our primary activity.
  • We'll likely need to leverage our licensing contracts to enforce this.
  • If a database is not compliant by the deadline, we'll likely need to drop the database and/or find accessible alternatives.
  • However, if dropping a particular database would create a major negative impact to how the library (or its parent entity) was able to fulfill its primary activities, then a hardship case could be argued to keep it.
    • for example, if a research database was needed as part of a college academic program keeping its accreditation.
    • There would still have to be robust mechanisms in place for students to request accessible versions of PDFs from the database.
      • Here again, we'll likely need language in our contracts that allow us to remediate the database content on an as needed basis (as contracts can override copyright protections that allow for this remediation).
    • My understanding is that any arguments for hardship would likely take place in court if the entity were to get sued over the inaccessible materials.
• Materials not part of our active primary activities - ie pre-existing electronic documents of board of trustees meeting minutes in the university archives that were created before the deadline - could remain untouched. 
  • • However, if the document becomes actively used after the deadline - such as the archival materials being used for class reading or if the document becoming part of a modern online exhibit- then the documents would need to be brought up to specs.

Again, that's just my understanding from everything I've heard/read so far. 

For specific questions, the DOJ does have an ADA Info Line that was recommended.

A group of us who attended the webinar are submitting proposals for ALA Annual about the rules (both a conference session and an in-depth preconference workshop). 

We're also about to create a series of Frequently Asked Questions about the rules that we'll publish on an upcoming ALA website entirely about accessibility**.

Finally, we're hoping to create or use an existing outlet for online conversation about the rules. An ALA Connect or a Slack channel are a couple possible venues.

cheers!
Jerr

** The accessibility site shell is almost finished and we'll start adding content in October. Not sure yet when a public beta of the site will be available, but we plan to improve it iteratively with hopefully monthly releases of new content.

I'm so sorry to see that I missed this session!  There is some debate at my library over whether we'll need to ensure that all of the databases we subscribe to (and the content therein) are accessible - Jerry, did you get an answer to your 3rd question? (I.e. Because a library's primary activity is research, would it be correct to say that older online research materials, such as academic journal articles, could not be exempt under the preexisting conventional electronic documents exemption because they are "used to ... gain access to, or participate in the public entity's services, programs, or activities"?)