Improving Library Accessibility Webpages with Secondary Feedback from Users with Disabilities

Abstract

Libraries often have a webpage that is dedicated to sharing accessibility information with their users. However, many of these accessibility webpages do not meet the needs of users with disabilities. This article builds on the work of articles by Brunskill (2020) and Brunskill et al. (2021), which shared feedback on a library accessibility webpage gathered from users with disabilities, and created a guide for auditing the information found on library accessibility webpages. This article shares how the Montana State University Library used the feedback they gathered (“secondary feedback”) to improve our accessibility webpage. It is a best practice to get feedback directly from users with disabilities when developing or improving any accessibility resource, and this can take significant time and effort. Therefore, this article shares how libraries can use secondary feedback, such as a feedback-based content audit, as a good starting place to make improvements to their accessibility webpage before soliciting direct feedback from users with disabilities.