1 of 15

The OERigin Story: �How We Built an Accessible Library Teaching Resource�

ANNA FLAK, KATIE HARDING AND NANCY WAITE

MCMASTER UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

2 of 15

Land Acknowledgement�

McMaster University is located on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe nations. Many urban Indigenous folk also continue to inhabit Hamilton and its surrounding areas. This territory was the subject of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes.

As we reflect on our presence here, as guests and uninvited settlers, we recognize that accessibility is a key component of justice and inclusion for all communities, including Indigenous peoples and those belonging to our institution.

3 of 15

Introductions

ANNA FLAK

Teaching & Learning Librarian

KATIE HARDING

Teaching & Learning Librarian, OER & STEM

NANCY WAITE

Coordinator, Library Accessibility Services

4 of 15

Images

Added for interest
Will not be described during presentation
All have alt-text, which will be shared

5 of 15

Presentation Overview

Project Background & Goals

Building a Team

Writing, Review, and Publishing

6 of 15

Background�

Anna and Katie participated in McMaster's inaugural Accessible Education Fellows program in 2023-2024.
Our project focused on making screenshots and live demos more accessible in library instruction.
We weren't finding much information about the library-specific ways that we teach and engage with students.
We proposed a library strategic initiative for accessible library teaching.

7 of 15

Goals

Provide an opportunity for team members to take a "deep dive" into an accessibility topic.

Create a resource that can be used within our library to help make our library teaching practices more accessible.

Share our resource openly with library workers at other institutions.

8 of 15

Building Our Team

Open call to anyone in our library who was interested in accessibility, didn’t require expertise or experience
Authors did not have to bring a topic of interest; we identified topics together
Our team brings a broad range of experience — from no prior background, to many years working in or alongside accessibility initiatives, to lived experience.
Authors could work alone, in pairs, or in small groups.

We started by forming a team. We put out a call for collaborators from within the McMaster University Libraries. The project was open to anyone in our library who was interested in accessibility. This was not limited to people who were experts or who had a certain level of knowledge or experience with accessibility. It was really open to anyone. Once we had a group of people who were interested in this project, we worked together to come up with some topics that we thought would be worth exploring. Once we had those topics, authors could choose which one they wanted to work on. Some authors signed up to work on a chapter individually, while others worked in pairs or teams of three. This was a nice way to ensure that folks with less accessibility knowledge could have support from their colleagues.

9 of 15

Team Members�

Teaching & Learning: Jeannie An, Anna Flak, Katie Harding, Carly McLeod, Katie Merriman, Ariel Stables-Kennedy
Health Sciences Library: Laura Banfield, Louise Caravaggio, Susanna Galbraith, Jo-Anne Petropoulos
Distinctive, Legacy, and Digital Heritage Collections: Matthew Fesnak
Digital Scholarship Services: Subhanya Sivajothy
Library Accessibility Services: Nancy Waite

10 of 15

Why people joined the project

To learn more about accessibility and inclusive practices
To gain experience in collaborative writing and publishing
To share lived experiences as library staff with disabilities and help reduce barriers for others
To advocate for accessibility and inclusion within the library profession
To collaborate with colleagues who share similar values and goals
To build community and contribute to meaningful, lasting change

11 of 15

Writing Process

Provided a simple chapter template

Overview
Description of library teaching practice
Guiding principles
Recommendations for accessibility
References
Further reading and resources

Set deadlines for drafting, reviewing, and revising
Held regular check-in meetings for discussions, questions, and scheduled work time

12 of 15

Review Process

Peer review

Authors peer reviewed other chapters from the project
Additional reviewers from McMaster University Libraries, McMaster's Accessibility Community of Practice, McMaster Student and Alumni Accessibility Council

Editorial review by Anna and Katie

Additional review by Nancy

13 of 15

Open Publishing

We wanted this resource to be usable to library workers at other institutions
Published in Pressbooks
Chose a CC BY license to allow for adoption, adaptation, remixing, etc.

14 of 15

The Book: �Accessible Library Teaching

Instructional workshops
Designing online and in-person instruction
Integrating accessible technology into teaching
Research consultations
LibGuides
Online learning objects
Access services
Outreach events

15 of 15

Connect with us!�

Katie Harding kharding@mcmaster.ca

Anna Flak

flaka1@mcmaster.ca

Nancy Waite

waitenm@mcmaster.ca