The following is the email I sent to the staff of Syracuse University Libraries on in recognition of the year's Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Please feel free to share and adapt per your own needs.
Every year, the third Thursday of May marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day to teach and focus on digital access and inclusion.
While this email has made you aware of the day, I would propose that you take a minute and make today a day for Global Accessibility ACTION. Accessibility is an every day activity that should be incorporated into your work always. The way to do this is through practice and habit.
Ergo, I encourage you to take 5-10 minutes today and try out a new practice. Here are some examples of brief things to try out:
- Working on a PowerPoint deck, Word document, or a lengthy email in Outlook, give the accessibility checker a try out. Under the Review tab in the ribbon, you, can use the Check Accessibility tool to get input on your content. Give it a whirl and ask me any questions that come up?
- Got a few more minutes? Maybe grab an old document or slide deck and check to see if it needs any remediation? Why do it? Accessibility features go with you most of the time when you copy and paste. Write that alt text for that photograph once in Word and it will be there if you paste the image from the first document to another. You still need to check accessibility, of course. Again, I’m happy to help if you have any questions.
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Ever wonder how accessible some webpage or e-resource you like is? Take a brief moment and do
keyboard testing. Open the page in a browser and try to use it only with your keyboard. Can you
navigate everywhere? Click every link and button? Here is a list of what keys do what:
Keyboard Key What It Does Tab Move to next link, button, or form field Shift + Tab Move to previous link, button, etc. Enter Trigger current link or button Space Trigger interactive element (dropdown menus, buttons, checkboxes, etc.) Up or Down arrows Navigate dropdowns, choose radio buttons, adjust number inputs Right or Left arrows Adjust sliders, navigate some menus, etc. Escape Close menu or modal - Although the above are about doing accessibility, it’s important to also understand why to do it. Take a moment to listen or read from disabled voices. Some of my online faves are Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, Tommy Edison, and the Disability Visibility Project by Alice Wong. You could also watch the Crip Camp documentary on Netflix. Have more suggestions?
While today may be a world focus for disability access, people with disabilities have that focus every day. Do your part to make the world better and more accessible for all.