Do you have a VPAT: Incorporating Accessibility into Subscription Renewals

Presentation Overview

This presentation will describe:

• What we were aiming for
• How we developed the process
• Who was involved
• What we discovered
• Where we are/next steps

Project Goals

• Determine the current accessibility of online resources
• Request a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) from all content providers
• Request platform improvements
• Negotiate license terms

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Make sure online resources licensed by the University of Washington Libraries are accessible!

How We Started

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Problems:

• Few VPATs collected
• No verification process
• No feedback to vendors

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Progress: establish Accessibility Working Group to test resources

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In 2018 we began requesting VPATs from vendors when reviewing licenses

The Process

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• Hana- Accessibility testing
• Karen- Vendor communication (request VPAT and inform of testing results)
• Faye- License negotiation, tracking VPATs

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Decided to adapt an existing workflow (the renewal cycle) to capitalize on each of our strengths.

Accessibility Testing

Keyboard navigation testing

• Can we perform a search?
• Can we retrieve a search result?
• Can we interact with search result/content?

Accessibility Testing

VPAT assessment

• How well did they fill out the VPAT?
• What does the VPAT say?
• Does the VPAT match our experience?

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Remember: a VPAT does not guarantee accessibility!

Accessibility Testing

Record and track results

• Testing spreadsheets
• Retesting cycle
• Refresh VPATs annually

Renewal Process

• Request VPAT when gathering renewal quote
• Check Hana’s testing spreadsheet
• Include Faye in renewal communication
• Relay testing results to vendor when they haven’t passed

Licensing

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• Ask vendors to include accessibility terms

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Licensors shall ensure their resources are accessible and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), by supporting assistive software or devices such as large print interfaces, text-to-speech output, voice-activated input, refreshable braille displays, and alternate keyboard or pointer interfaces, in a manner consistent with the Web Accessibility Initiative Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA.

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Licensing

• Ask to agree to make improvements
• Ask to indemnify

Licensor shall indemnify, defend, and hold the University, the State of Washington, and their respective Trustees, Employees, agents, and servants harmless for any fines, penalties, expenses, or awards related to any claims related to failure to maintain ADA compliance, including attorneys’ fees, and requests for accommodation.

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• Challenges
• No license required
• NISO SERU (National Information Standards Organization Shared E-Resource Understanding)
• Non-United States vendors

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Results so far

• 59 resources did not pass accessibility test
• 29 are produced by U.S. vendors
• Of the 29:
• 12 No VPAT
• 13 Have a VPAT
• 4 Older VPAT
• Problem areas: Health Sciences & Business

Challenges and Successes

• Con
• Lack of capacity/resources by vendor
• No response
• Outdated/incomplete VPAT
• Refusal
• Pro
• Majority of platforms are somewhat accessible
• Some vendors have taken action based on our requests
• Improved platforms!
• Teamwork

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Next Steps

• Continue working with vendors
• Enlist help from Subject Specialists to:
• Identify alternate resources that are accessible
• Contact vendor representatives
• Beta test an automated workflow using Teams, Forms, and Flow

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Resources

UW Library E-Resource Accessibility Testing

UW Libraries’ Principles in Licensing Scholarly Resources

Library E-Resource Accessibility- Standardized License Language

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)

Questions?

Faye Christenberry

Collection Strategy and Licensing Librarian

Fayec@uw.edu

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Hana Levay

Collection Assessment Librarian

levay@uw.edu

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Karen Spence

Serials & Electronic Resources Librarian

kmspence@uw.edu