The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has announced the appointment of Katya Pereyaslavska as a visiting program officer (VPO) for accessibility and universal design, effective October 1, 2014. Pereyaslavska is the Scholars Portal Accessibility Librarian at the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) and the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL), a position she has held for two years. She has worked in other capacities at UTL since 2009.
ARL, OCUL, and UTL share a common interest in ensuring equitable access to library collections for students and researchers with print disabilities. Developing awareness among - and partnerships with - scholarly publishers to achieve that end is a shared strategic goal of both organisations.
As VPO, Pereyaslavska will work with the ARL Accessibility and Universal Design Working Group to develop an outreach program, directed at the international scholarly publishing community, to raise awareness of the obligations and responsibilities of publishers with respect to providing accessible content to libraries serving students and researchers with print disabilities. The engagement with the publishing community will encompass the development of written guidelines and recommendations, based on study of best-practice initiatives, that can be used to better understand the needs of users of all abilities and the formats and delivery models that are required to address the range of needs of that diverse group.
Pereyaslavska will also work in partnership with accessibility experts across North America to create opportunities for publishers, librarians, and library users with print disabilities to meet (virtually and in person) to discuss issues and concerns and to create an active dialogue among stakeholders that will encourage the development of new and innovative solutions to the challenges of providing equitable access.
The ARL VPO program provides opportunities for outstanding staff members at ARL member libraries to contribute to special projects and programs, either in whole or in part, in order to advance the agenda of the Association.
