Supporting the information journey of students with disabilities through accessible learning materials
| Date | 12 November 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-07-2018-0062 |
| Published date | 12 November 2018 |
| Pages | 721-732 |
| Author | Julius T. Nganji |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
Supporting the information
journey of students with
disabilities through accessible
learning materials
Julius T. Nganji
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy,
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to suggest howthe information journey of students with disabilities couldbe
facilitated, by first revealingthe existence of inaccessible formats such as Portable DocumentFormat (PDF)
and then suggesting the inclusion of alternative formats of accessible learning materials, thus improving
retrieval.
Design/methodology/approach –A sample of 400 articles published over 10 years (2009-2018) from
four journals are selected and analysed for accessibility against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
WCAG 2.0 by using automated accessibility checkers, a screen reader and manual human expertise. The
resultsare presentedand recommendations made on improving accessibility.
Findings –The findings suggestthat the PDF versions of the selected journal articles are not accessible for
screen reader users but could be improved by adopting accessible and inclusive practices. Including
alternativeformats of the learning materials could helpsupport the student information journey.
Research limitations/implications –The results of the study might not be very representativeof all
the articles in the journals given the small sample size. Additionally, the criteria used in the study do not
consider all existing disabilities. Thus, although the PDFs may be inaccessible for some people with
disabilities,they may be accessible to others.
Practical implications –Given that PDFs seemto be the preferred format of journalarticles online, there
is potential for a difficultinformation journey for some students due to the limitations posed by inaccessibility
of the PDFs. Thus, it is recommendedto include alternative formats which could be more accessible, giving
the student the choiceof accessing the learning materials in their preferred format.
Social implications –If students are unable to access thelearning materials that are required for their
course, this could lead to poor grade, whichmight negatively affect the students’morale. In some cases, some
studentsmight drop out.
Originality/value –This study analyses the accessibilityof learning materials provided by a third party
(journal publishers) and how they affect the student, something thatis not usually given much importance
when researchin accessibility is carried out.
Keywords Assistive technology, Disability, Accessibility, WCAG, Information journey,
Portable document format
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In this information age, usersare struggling to keep up to date with information overload as
information is constantly being pushed to their devices such as mobile phones, watches,
tablets and game consoles. The necessity of accessing this information without barriers is
increasingly important with the increasing number of people with impairments. Given that
Accessible
learning
materials
721
Received14 July 2018
Revised4 August 2018
Accepted6 August 2018
Informationand Learning Science
Vol.119 No. 12, 2018
pp. 721-732
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-07-2018-0062
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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