How Database‐Driven Web Sites Enhance Accessibility
| Pages | 34-38 |
| Date | 01 September 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050610713727 |
| Published date | 01 September 2006 |
| Author | Isaac Hunter Dunlap |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
How Database-Driven Web Sites Enhance
Accessibility
Isaac Hunter Dunlap
34 LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 8 2006, pp. 34-38, #Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/07419050610713727
The phrase ``web accessibility''
carries a range of meaning and tends to
evoke strong and disparate feeling
among web users, developers, content
providers and other library and
information practitioners. For some,
web accessibility can be viewed as a
means to ``even the playing field'' and
is a philosophical cause to champion.
The phrase is sometimes advanced as
one of several potential techniques for
building a series of bridges across the
digital divide that denies individuals the
freedom to access and use information.
Seen through the lens of a developer,
web accessibility may be a troublesome
inconvenience that assists relatively
few and diverts energy and resources
from substantive web initiatives and
development projects that could aid the
masses. To a visually impaired user, the
phrase may simply mean whether it is
possible to search for a book title or
obtain a full-text article in an online
environment.
Whatever the generalized perception,
hindering roadblock, philosophical
perspective or concrete need,
accessibility has rapidly become an
integral feature of the web development
landscape. This article provides an
update on ``web accessibility'' issues
and discusses how a database driven
approach to web development can help
address significant technical challenges
related to providing universal
information access. Background
information on currently applicable
accessibility standards offers a
framework for exploring issues and
highlighting potential pathways for
success.
The rules of the road
Two major sets of standards are
widely recognized by web developers
as the guideposts by which web site
accessibility is measured. The Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) version 1.0 was released in
1999 by the Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C)[1]. Founded
by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, the
W3C is an influential organization that
seeks to produce specifications and
guidelines that will assist the web's
ongoing development and growth. The
WCAG is based on a conformance
structure of three levels. Sites that
conform to ``Level A'' have met the
minimal recommendations outlined in a
``Priority 1'' checklist. Web sites that
meet both Priority 1 and the somewhat
more rigorous Priority 2 specifications
are characterized as being in conformity
with Level AA. Sites that are in
compliance with Priority 1, Priority 2
(and the even more stringent Priority 3
requirements) are recognized as having
reached the elusive Level AAA status.
The WCAG specification has been
widely adopted by international
agencies, companies, educational
institutions, governmental bodies and
others. The new 2.0 version of WCAG
is expected to be finalized within the
year[2].
The second major accessibility
standard (based largely on WCAG) is
codified in US Federal Law as Section
508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(as amended in 1993 and 1998)[3].
Section 508 is particularly significant
since its passage in 1998 marked the
first time a web standard was
formalized within any country's
national legislation. Section 508 applies
predominantly to the federal
government's purchase of information
technology, mandating that disabled
individuals must be able to access any
good or service bought with federal
funds. While the establishment of
Section 508 was important, an earlier
section of the same Act (s. 504) is why
many library webmasters have become
familiar with this particular set of
criteria. Section 504 states that:
No otherwise qualified individual with a
disability in the United States ... shall,
solely by reason of her or his disability,
be excluded from participation in, be
denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or
activity receiving Federal financial assis-
tance[4].
Similar to how Congress is able to
influence the setting of speed limits on
Interstate highways based on funding
received by state governments, the law
extends mandatory compliance with
Section 508 to ``any program or
activity'' receiving federal funds. Since
federal expenditures directly impact
state and local government, schools,
health and human services, libraries and
museums, transportation services and a
host of other areas, a great many web
sites automatically fall under this
mandate. As federal research grants are
received by both public and private
colleges and universities, there are few
web sites within higher education that
are not impacted by Section 508's
specifications.
There is currently a state of legal
uncertainty concerning how Section
508 specifications may apply to
commercial web sites doing business
with the public. Although the
Rehabilitation Act would not be
directly applicable unless federal
funding were involved, it has been
argued in several federal circuit courts
that the public accommodations
provided to disabled individuals by the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
at physical brick-and-mortar retail
stores should logically also apply to
cyberspace e-commerce transactions.
At this juncture neither the US Court of
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