{"title":"Hidden Inequities of Access","authors":"Amanda Hovious, Congwen Wang","doi":"10.5860/ital.v43i1.16661","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\nDespite ongoing efforts to improve database accessibility, aggregated database vendors concede that they do not have complete control over document accessibility. Instead, they point to the responsibility of journal publishers to deliver articles in an accessible format. This may increase the likelihood that users with disabilities will encounter articles that are not compatible with a screen reader. To better understand the extent of the problem, a document accessibility audit was conducted of randomly selected articles from EBSCO’s Library & Information Source database. Full-text articles from 12 library science journals were evaluated against two measures of screen reader compatibility: HTML format (the optimal format for screen readers) and PDF accessibility conformance. Findings showed inconsistencies in HTML format availability for articles in the selected journals. Additionally, the entire sample of PDF articles failed to meet the minimum standard of PDF Universal Accessibility of containing a tagged structure. However, all PDF articles passed accessibility permissions tests, so could be made accessible retroactively by a third party.\n","PeriodicalId":1,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of Chemical Research","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":17.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Accounts of Chemical Research","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.5860/ital.v43i1.16661","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Despite ongoing efforts to improve database accessibility, aggregated database vendors concede that they do not have complete control over document accessibility. Instead, they point to the responsibility of journal publishers to deliver articles in an accessible format. This may increase the likelihood that users with disabilities will encounter articles that are not compatible with a screen reader. To better understand the extent of the problem, a document accessibility audit was conducted of randomly selected articles from EBSCO’s Library & Information Source database. Full-text articles from 12 library science journals were evaluated against two measures of screen reader compatibility: HTML format (the optimal format for screen readers) and PDF accessibility conformance. Findings showed inconsistencies in HTML format availability for articles in the selected journals. Additionally, the entire sample of PDF articles failed to meet the minimum standard of PDF Universal Accessibility of containing a tagged structure. However, all PDF articles passed accessibility permissions tests, so could be made accessible retroactively by a third party.
尽管一直在努力提高数据库的可访问性，但综合数据库供应商承认，他们无法完全控制文件的可访问性。相反，他们指出期刊出版商有责任以无障碍格式提供文章。这可能会增加残疾用户遇到与屏幕阅读器不兼容的文章的可能性。为了更好地了解问题的严重程度，我们从 EBSCO 的 Library & Information Source 数据库中随机抽取了一些文章进行文档无障碍审核。根据屏幕阅读器兼容性的两个衡量标准：HTML 格式（屏幕阅读器的最佳格式）和 PDF 可访问性一致性，对 12 种图书馆科学期刊的全文文章进行了评估。结果显示，所选期刊文章的 HTML 格式可用性不一致。此外，所有 PDF 文章样本均未达到 PDF 通用可访问性的最低标准，即包含标记结构。不过，所有 PDF 文章都通过了无障碍访问权限测试，因此可由第三方进行追溯无障碍访问。
期刊介绍：
Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance.
Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.
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