Discoverability, usability, and readability: a framework for assessing accessibility for disabled users of online archives

Abstract

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives individuals the freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the right to information access. In an archival context, information access can mean many things. In this paper, I have focused on accessibility for Disabled users. What does it mean for archival materials or websites to be “accessible”? To begin answering this question, I examined 55 archives’ online materials using three metrics: discoverability, usability, and readability. For this project, discoverability focuses on the logic of the paths from an archive's homepage to target items. Usability evaluates the implementation of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the presence of multiple access points for information. Readability looks at the reading levels of descriptive text using Flesch–Kincaid analysis and the presence of text alternatives. I find that, at present, discoverability, usability, and readability for the examined archival materials are low. However, by breaking down the broad idea of “accessibility” into three categories, improving that reality might become easier. Specific strategies for increasing discoverability, usability, and readability are also discussed.