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With regards to the repository infrastructure, no-one is would deny that WCAG (or other appropriate standards) should rule. However, arguing about the contents of repositories is like trying to apply standards to stable doors after the horse has bolted. It is the PUBLISHERS that determine the house styles and format rules, not the repositories. They can do little, if anything, to improve the accessibility of the material that they hold. Yes, they can apply post-hoc PDF - XHTML conversions, but these rarely improve matters; you need to build in issues of accessibility into the authoring process. I for one would love it if there could be a concerted effort to get publishers to take these issues seriously. I have tried to encourage (and mandate!) XHTML submissions for conferences that I have run, but it really needs the backing of publishers to be taken seriously. Now, what happens when it comes to data repositories? I don't think that WCAG was specified with this in mind! -- Les On 18 Dec 2006, at 19:05, Brian Kelly wrote: > I have been giving some further thought to the issue of the > accessibility of > resources in institutional repositories. From a simple > perspective, based > on seeking to comply with WAI WCAG 1.0 guidelines, PDF can be a bit > of a > non-no (WCAG requires use of open W3C formats) and from a less > prescriptive > perspective (e.g. the WCAG 2.0 draft guidelines are neutral > regarding file > formats) there are still issues about whether the PDFs will be > accessible. > > However myself, David Sloan, Lawrie Phipps and others have argued > for a more > holistic approach to accessibility, which is based on the notion of > widening > participation and inclusion rather than the absolutist perspective > associated with the term 'universal accessibility'. This viewpoint is > described in more detail in: > Contextual Web Accessibility - Maximizing the Benefit of Accessibility > Guidelines, <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/papers/w4a-2006/> > and Forcing Standardization or Accommodating Diversity? A Framework > for > Applying the WCAG in the Real World, > <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/papers/w4a-2005/> > > This approach can then be aligned with Steven Harnard's argument > about the > need to maximise the number of resources held in institutional > repositories > (something I'd agree with). However to comply with UK legal > requirements, > there will be a need to take 'reasonable measures' to ensure the > resources > can be made accessible. I think that this can be addressed by > policies, > education and training, supported by better tools in the workflow > process. > > I've expanded on this at: > http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2006/12/12/accessibility-and- > institutional-r > epositories/ > > Comments welcome. > > Brian > > -------------------------------- > Brian Kelly > UKOLN, University of Bath, BATH, UK, BA2 7AY > Email: [log in to unmask] > Phone: +44 1225 383943