Wondwossen Beyene will defend his thesis "Toward inclusive and Adaptable Information Services in Digital Library Environments".
10.00–10.45: Trial lecture: "The impact of accessible technologies in digital libraries."
12.00: Public defence.
The ordinary opponents are:
- First opponent: Andrew MacFarlane, London University
- Second opponent: Kristin Skeide Fuglerud, Norsk Regnesentral and Associate Professor at University of South-Eastern Norway
Leader of the committee: Gerd Berget, Associate Professor OsloMet.
Leader of the defence: Dean Ann-Helén Bay, Faculty of Social Sciences.
The main supervisor is Associate Professor Norun Christine Sanderson, OsloMet.
The co-supervisor is Professor Nils Pharo, OsloMet.
Abstract
Background
The advent of digital technology in libraries, combined with advances in accessibility and universal design, has created the opportunity to create inclusive information services. A main challenge of these services is the inclusion of people with print disabilities who have been served through special libraries designated for their use.
The objective of this research was twofold. First, it attempted to identify the barriers of the access to digital content by users with print disabilities; second, it aimed to explore how the advances in accessibility and universal design could be applied to remove such barriers.
Methodology
The research was designed as a qualitative study that employed the techniques of semi-structured interviews, usability testing, prototyping, use of survey data, documentation analysis, and literature reviews.
Thirteen participants with print disabilities and eight digital service librarians were included in the study. In addition, part of a survey data collected from a survey completed by 113 people with print disabilities were used. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model was employed to identify the barriers and to develop a framework for removing them. Moreover, a postphenomenological analysis was conducted to reexamine the role of technology in user-information mediation from the perspective of digital inclusion.
Results
In addition to the bodily impairments that affect users’ ability to read printed text or perceive certain colors, users’ own attitudes and perception of libraries are part of the personal barriers identified and discussed in the study.
Contextual barriers that can be attributed to the failure of digital library environments to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities are also detailed and discussed. The design of search interfaces according to accessibility guidelines, the use of accessibility and regular metadata for accessible search, and the development policies and procedures that include the needs of persons with print disabilities are among the solutions this research recommended for inclusive access to digital content.
The results showed that people of similar disabilities could have contrasting preferences. Moreover, it was observed that the demands of “one-time users” could differ from those of frequent users. Therefore, inclusive design practices need to consider not only the disabilities of users but also the diversity of needs and varying patterns of use.
Thus, the research provided a framework which recommends adherence to accessibility guidelines as the minimum requirement and add other requirements, such as provision of alternative content and adaptable search interface, catering to the needs of one-time as well as frequent users.
Moreover, the results of the phenomenological analysis revealed different types of relations, such as embodiment, hermeneutics, alterity, and background, which may occur when users interact with search interfaces. The results showed how postphenomenological analysis could help in diagnosing the barriers that may affect user–information mediation.
Conclusion and recommendations
The realization of inclusive digital library environments cannot be achieved solely by following accessibility guidelines or laws and conventions that protect peoples’ rights of access to information. It requires a user-centered approach that acknowledges the diversity of needs and preferences and reexamines the role of digital technology in mediating the access to information.
This research was conducted in the Norwegian context. Further studies in similar or different contexts could be required to confirm or expand the solutions presented in this research.
