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Abstract

The Americans With Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, significantly increasing the disabled community’s access to public life. Since then, life has branched out into digital and physical spaces. With this shift came the need to integrate accessibility considerations into web design, in the same way an architect would consider accessibility when drawing up plans for a new building. However, while buildings are usually designed by professionals, websites are often not. Libraries are no exception, as many may not have dedicated staff to design and maintain a website. In cases where they do have dedicated staff, they may not have the proper training or even basic knowledge of how to make the user experience accessible (American Library Association, 2022). According to the U.S. Census, 13.4 percent of noninstitutionalized Americans are disabled. In Mississippi, that number increases to 18.6 percent. Statewide, this is more than 500,000 people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022). This makes up a significant portion of the library service population, but are librarians properly trained to meet that population’s needs? This question is especially pertinent when it comes to evaluating the accessibility of digital spaces, as there are barriers that able-bodied librarians may not think to address. This research examines the state of digital accessibility in Mississippi public libraries and discusses ways to improve it. The purpose of this research was to assess the digital accessibility of public libraries in Mississippi through a webometric analysis of their website’s home pages.

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