In 1982, Time Magazine replaced its usual “Man of the Year” issue with the “Machine of the Year.” The cover image showed a man made of paper seated at his personal computer. An exciting but still inchoate era was taking shape, with personal devices now attainable and people beginning to live an increasing proportion of their lives online. In the following decades, the need for accessibility for those with disabilities became increasingly evident and vital to keep this new frontier equal and open to all.

4 years on from Time’s bold 1982 issue, Section 508 was added to the US Rehabilitation Act, requiring federal agencies to make IT accessible to people with disabilities. Then as the 20th century came to a close, Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web Consortium unveiled the first Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), bringing accessibility requirements to the international stage.

WCAG soon became a prerequisite for equality in higher education as universities advanced technologically and moved more learning resources online. Could a student relying purely on their keyboard, or requiring plain text in order to browse a resource, access all the digital infrastructure at their institution? These questions only grew more pressing as studying almost purely online developed during the COVID 19 pandemic.

WCAG is a dynamic roadmap, always developing to meet the various needs of internet users. For instance, the most recent iteration released in October 2023, WCAG 2.2, gives new emphasis to the requirements of neurodiverse users.

WCAG 2.2 is desirable for all UK and US universities seeking to keep resources compliant with legal requirements for accessibility. Under the new guidelines, digital content must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

In response to global efforts to open up digital resources to students with disabilities, Exact Editions’ tech-team has been working hard to fill in the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) with platform developments to meet these latest WCAG standards.

Some of this work to our site for institutions has included:

  • Updating HTML header tags structure to provide a logical hierarchy of information
  • Including hidden link shortcuts for keyboard only users, allowing them to tab through search filters and skip sections of web pages
  • Updated ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) labelling for form inputs
  • Clearer ARIA labelling for navbar navigation controls and for magazine issues
  • Improvement on image only recaptcha check

Much of higher education is under pressure from budget cuts, rising student numbers, and outdated tech. In this context, providing an up-to-date VPAT is paramount in meeting ethical standards but also in succeeding as a digital resource provider. Having evidence of WCAG compliance makes the library acquisitions process as smooth as possible for library staff, ensuring a business is not passed over due to having below par accessibility. Despite the growing demand for WCAG compliance, a number of digital resource providers are struggling to meet the guidelines, according to the Library Accessibility Alliance E-Resource Reports.

Exact Editions is committed to working towards full WCAG compliance to maintain international accessibility standards while ensuring subscriptions for our publishing partners. The Exact Editions institutional site is currently WCAG 2.2 AA compliant.

If you would like to read our current VPAT, please click here.