Realizing Inclusive Digital Library Environments: Opportunities and Challenges

Universal design, also known as inclusive design, envisions the design of products and services to be accessible and usable to all irrespective of their disability status, cultural background, age, etc. Libraries have been benefiting from the breakthroughs in accessibility research to design their environments as friendly as possible for all groups of uses. However, the present scenario of digital library environments characterized by different types of resources acquired or subscribed from different vendors operating with different rules, and who would maintain some form of control over the collections shows that adherence to guidelines by itself won't ensure inclusive digital library environments. The paper attempts to explore the matter taking the case of digital services run in selected libraries to identify trends that favor universal design and point challenges that need to be dealt with as part of further endeavors.