Accessibility, It Is Not Just About Getting In The Door

Accessibility, It Is Not Just About Getting In The Door

            This semester we have been learning about technology and access to information.  A big part of providing information in an appropriate way is to understand different disabilities.  From the focused presentations I have learned about different disabilities, some of the assistive devices and some of the ITCs that can be used as interfaces.  One of the many take aways that I have been boggling minds with is the idea that making a building accessible is not enough. The ADA is not enough.  If a person can enter the building, this does not guarantee that he or she can use anything in the building.  If a person can wheel down an aisle that does not mean that he/she can reach the top shelf. If a person can walk up to a database computer, it does not mean that he/she can use the means of interacting with the database that is provided.  I am embarrassed to say that this is something I had never considered before.  I was convinced that people could ask the culturally competent staff for help, so everything was okay.  I had not considered what it would be like to always have to ask for assistance.  On a side note, Drs Maatta and Bonnici have also taught me is that there is no reason to be embarrassed about not knowing; there is only embarrassment in knowing and not doing anything about it. 

            In his article Universal Access to Information, Varian asserts “Universal access to all the world’s information is technologically possible now; the missing piece is the legal infrastructure that will provide the incentives to make such access economically viable.“   The Federal government stated that all government websites must be screen reader compatible, however many are not even now.  Varian suggests that incentives would create a world where accessibility is an architectural fundamental both in building and technology architecture.  In his lecture to ASIST, Tim Emmons described how Apple computers made a commitment to accessibility and integrated it into the fundamental design of its products first released in 2006.  Tim asserts that it would be no more expensive if it were integrated into fundamental design protocols. 

All public buildings are constructed according to ADA guidelines for physical access, however once people get in the door there are no laws about rights to access anything inside the building.  In my relationship with the Deaf community, I am finding that advocacy by both Deaf, and non-Deaf community members, is crucial.  My experience has been that misperceptions of the ADA requirements and simply “I don’t know what I don’t know” confuse self-advocacy efforts.  One of the issues I find most prevalent is that folks say to me “I have always been treated this way, things will never change.” As information professionals, we Project ALFA fellows can provide access to information in a respectful way furthering the civil rights initiatives of people with disabilities.  We are educated in many of the issues people with disabilities face in gaining access to information.  We can break down barriers to access through participating in conference sessions and educating other information providers.  We can talk to our co-workers, family members and people we meet while using public transportation about the importance of Universal Access.  We can develop workshops.  What we have learned is important to share.  The United Nations supports us in providing Universal Access to information:

“Freedom to receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers is enshrined as a fundamental right in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, access to information and communication technologies, which are increasingly important to ensure this right, are neither freely nor equitably distributed. Mr Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of ITU, the United Nations agency organizing the Summit said that the time has come to gain the commitment of the world’s political leaders "to develop urgently needed new policy and legal frameworks that are appropriate to cyberspace, and that will help give a structure within which new information and communication technologies will serve all of society in a meaningful way."

The United Nations Millennium Declaration acknowledges that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can make the world a better place, by helping to alleviate poverty, improving the delivery of education and healthcare services, and making government more accessible and accountable to the people. "The UN Millennium goals provide humanity with a united vision of what we wish to achieve in the next decade. ICTs are tools that will help us achieve that vision, and the World Summit on the Information Society can provide the direction," noted Mr Utsumi.

Mr Utsumi implored delegates to spend the two weeks of the preparatory meeting developing a draft of a text of the declaration and action plan "that will help to attract the attention of the world’s leaders and persuade them to lend their support to the Summit. It must be compelling and provocative, and it must capture our hopes and aspirations and those of the societies of which we are all part — as well as addressing our fears and concerns."

With the knowledge we have through our previous experience and the knowledge gained through Project ALFA we can join world leaders in this shared effort to gain Universal Access to information.

REFERENCES

Press Release on: "Access to Information is a Fundamental Right in Information Society". (n.d.). ITU: the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2003/08.html

Emmons, T. (Speaker) (2012, April 2). Q & A with Tim Emmons. ASIST Meeting. Lecture conducted from University of Alabama, via Wimba.

Varian, H. (n.d.). Universal access to information. UC Berkeley School of Information. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~hal/Papers/2006/univ-access-info.pdf