Turning the Page on Digital Accessibility

The Challenge: Just as libraries are committed to physical accessibility, we must ensure that commitment extends to our digital environments. The growth of e-resources and online services makes this more critical than ever. The NWACC Library has over 2,500 pages spanning across our website, meaning making accessibility a priority will take time, dedication, and expertise that we did not have yet.

Our Approach: Having had positive experiences with Springshare, the NWACC Library was proud to be their first customer for a comprehensive website accessibility audit. We hoped to gain insights into our website's accessibility and receive recommendations that would enable us to better serve our community.

The Outcome: This partnership provided us with clear recommendations and a roadmap for creating a more inclusive and ADA-aligned web presence.

Student Population: In Fall 2024, 33% of our 8,412 students were enrolled exclusively online, and many more needing accommodations. Additionally, NWACC has a large Early College Enrollment (concurrent high school) program, many of whom will never step foot on our campus and have their own set of accommodations that need to be met.

ADA Compliance: The new Title II updates to the ADA require state and local government entities to make their websites and apps accessible.

• Larger entities (50,000+ people) must comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA by April 2026.
• Smaller entities like NWACC have until April 2027.

Why Springshare Was the Right Fit: We lacked the time and in-house expertise to navigate these new WCAG standards. Springshare was an ideal partner due to their:

• Familiarity with our platform
• Structured audit process
• Accessibility expertise