Accessibility must be intentionally designed into programs and workflows, and there are many ways that archives and library workers can improve accessibility for everyone. This workshop will help participants identify ways to make their archives and special collections more accessible, including physical and digital spaces. The instructor will introduce best practices as outlined by the Society of American Archivists’ Guidelines for Accessible Archives for People with Disabilities. Participants will learn how to assess both physical and digital spaces to common accessibility pitfalls and identify ways they can be addressed.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the session, participants should be able to:
Identify tangible ways that they can advocate for and implement accessibility in physical and digital spaces
Recognize “patterns of inaccessibility" and how to mitigate them
Understand current and emerging standards and resources on accessibility best practices
Instructor: Lydia Tang
Dr. Lydia Tang (she/her) is an Outreach and Engagement coordinator with LYRASIS. Previously, she held archivist positions with Michigan State University, Library of Congress and held numerous graduate positions at the University of Illinois, where she received her MLIS and Doctor of Musical Arts degree, including the American Library Association Archives, the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Passionate about accessibility and disability representation in archives, she served on the Task Force to Revise Best Practices on Accessible Archives for People with Disabilities and spearheaded founding the Society of American Archivists’ (SAA) Accessibility & Disability Section. She is the 2020 recipient of SAA’s Mark A. Greene Emerging Leader Award and was recognized in three SAA Council resolutions as a co-founder of the Archival Workers Emergency Fund, for spearheading the Accessibility & Disability Section’s “Archivists at Home” document and co-authoring the “Guidelines for Accessible Archives for People with Disabilities.”
