The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has updated its Title II regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), introducing new standards to make web content accessible for individuals with disabilities. This regulatory update aims to ensure that digital resources provided by public institutions, including libraries, are accessible to all users. In response, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has released resources to assist libraries in adopting "born-accessible" practices—creating digital content with accessibility in mind from the start. ARL emphasizes that this approach would enable students with disabilities to access coursework and research materials concurrently with their peers.
In a recent ARL-hosted community conversation on ADA Title II, librarians, legal experts, and disability rights advocates gathered to discuss how libraries can approach the updated regulations as an opportunity to advance inclusivity in their resources and services. "Title II is an opportunity to more fully lean into our values as information professionals," stated Liz Lorang, Dean of University Libraries at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, in her opening remarks.
The conversation highlighted the proactive measures libraries can take to meet accessibility standards. Samantha Teremi, Licensing Librarian at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), spoke on the role of licensing in accessibility compliance. “Perhaps the best and most proactive approach to compliance is to use licensing as a way to get better content to begin with, and that’s what we’re doing at UCB,” she shared, emphasizing that robust licensing agreements can ensure that the content libraries offer is accessible from the outset.
ARL’s written guidance, ADA Title II Regulations: Implications for Libraries, provides sample language for license agreements that libraries can use to secure accessible electronic resources. It also includes an overview of the new rule and a table for analyzing its applicability to library content, giving institutions practical tools to comply with the updated ADA Title II standards.
This guidance builds on ARL’s 2023 comments to the DOJ, where they highlighted successful accessibility strategies from UCB and other member libraries. These efforts align with DOJ’s expectation that the market for accessible third-party services will expand in response to the new regulations, making it easier for libraries to procure accessible content.
The DOJ's Title II update, along with ARL's continued advocacy, signals significant progress toward creating inclusive library environments where accessibility is prioritized, not only for compliance but as a fundamental principle of equitable information access.
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