Accessible to All: When "Born Digital" Results in Ready Availability in Print-Only

Some law libraries and certainly our professional association plus many but not all legal vendors can do a much better job by insisting/ensuring that all legal resouces are available to all potential users of them. I emphasize "potential users" because many law school students, practitioners, and members of the general public with disabilities simply do not have ready access the "law of the land" and its analysis and commentary as those of us who are not disabled. This is an unacceptable situation considering that even print materials are "born" digital" by way of production methods that start with author submission of digital files in MS Word or PDF for print production workflow.

Barbara Mates' Assistive Technologies in the Library (ALA, 2011) is a recommended guide. it is not 1990; it is the 21st century. From the blurb:

This sensitively written and practical guidebook will be an indispensable resource for ensuring that your library's offerings are accessible to everyone. Mates, former director of the Ohio Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled, strips away the technical jargon and introduces dozens of the latest options, including hardware, software, and peripherals.

[JH]