Library Web Accessibility 2024

By July 1, 2024 Colorado law HB21-1110 (Colorado Laws for Persons with Disabilities) requires all Colorado government entities to be in compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA in the creation and publication of any online content and materials; including, but not limited to text, links, images, forms, PDFs, documents, and embedded third-party applications.

Marmot has been preparing materials to help you ensure your library is ready.

Marmot Knowledge Base

Marmot's Knowledge Base will feature a section containing resources your library might use to prepare for July 1. This featured section will be updated as the Governor's Office of Information Technology releases updates to Colorado's rules for technology accessibility.

Web Accessibility: Getting Started

Marmot and the Colorado State Library have partnered to prepare a "getting started" guide to web accessibility. While many of the proposed rules being considered by OIT impact libraries and are therefore still unknown (see the next section of this post), this getting started guide outlines steps you can take now, regardless of what the proposed rules ultimately contain.

Proposed Technology Accessibility Rulemaking and Upcoming Hearings

In the fall and winter of 2023-24, the Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT) is creating rules regarding accessibility standards for IT systems. These rules will be the accessibility standards for public entities in Colorado, which includes state and local governments, special districts, and any other instrumentality of a state or local government. You can access the draft of the proposed rules here. Please note that this draft contains a list of items which may place an undue burden on public entities (outlined in 11.11.F. 1-12, on pages 9-11) that may impact libraries. The applicability of the law to third-party systems such as library systems providers or publishers of library digital content is yet to be finalized. You can submit written comments on the proposed rules by January 11, 2024 using this form.

A public hearing will be held on January 23, 2024 at 1pm-3:30pm; you can register to attend the hearing here. The proposed rules are expected to be finalized in January. Marmot's Knowledge Base content will be updated to reflect the final rules.

Training

The Colorado State Library has posted a Libraries Learn guide to training resources for digital accessibility. This site contains resources to learn more about Colorado accessibility laws, how to conduct web accessibility checks, and tools for making documents, videos, images, and other digital content accessible.

These resources are grouped according to the following themes:

Pika Accessibility

The Marmot Knowledge Base gives an overview of how Marmot's development team is working on Pika accessibility. While the proposed rules may contain a provision for library systems, Marmot staff are still prioritizing all standards of accessibility to be completed by July 1, 2024.

eContent Providers

Most libraries provide access to eContent products for their patrons. The Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) is considering whether libraries will be held responsible for the accessibility of content provided by third-party providers. This page will be updated once the rules for technology accessibility have been finalized by OIT.

In the meantime, the links included are to resources already available about the accessibility of library content.