About OhioLINK
The Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK) is a consortium of Ohio's college and university libraries and the State Library of Ohio. Serving more than 700,000 students, faculty, and staff at 86 institutions with 115 libraries, OhioLINK's membership includes 16 public universities, 22 community/technical colleges, 47 private colleges and the State Library of Ohio. OhioLINK serves faculty, students, staff, and other researchers via campus-based integrated library systems, the OhioLINK central site, and shared electronic resources.
The business and administration of the consortium is administered by the OhioLINK Central Office. The Ohio State University (OSU) acts as the administrative home for the OhioLINK Central Office and as such, the OhioLINK Central Office will adhere to OSU’s policies and procedures for digital accessibility.
OhioLINK Collections and Content
OhioLINK provides access to a shared library collection consisting of more than 35 million items held on over 40 platforms.
The OhioLINK Central Office creates and provides content to its membership and the general public via the use of its web site, extranet site (OStaff), and various documents, videos, and data created for members to use in their work.
OhioLINK is committed to the ongoing improvement of inclusivity and accessibility of its shared collections and materials created by the Central Office.
Measures to support accessibility
OhioLINK takes the following measures to ensure accessibility of shared e-resources:
- Designate a coordinator who is responsible for the OhioLINK Central Office’s internal accessibility requirements and efforts
- Use internal policies in the Central Office to ensure OhioLINK content is as accessible as possible today and to reflect our commitment to continuous improvement
- Implement procurement processes that prioritize accessible products and services
- Provide regular accessibility training for OhioLINK Central Office staff
- Employ formal accessibility quality assurance methods
- Establish and maintain a standing OhioLINK accessibility implementation team
- Negotiate and maintain license agreements that maximize accessibility and address remediation
- Engage with vendors to improve and maintain product accessibility for all users and the creation of digital-born accessible products that meet or exceed industry standards and best practices
- Advocate for accessibility and inclusion among OhioLINK members, vendors and business partners, and the broader library community
Conformance status
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA.
OhioLINK will conform to the Ohio State University’s Minimum Digital Accessibility Standards (MDAS) policy and use the procedures and workflows OSU provides.
The OhioLINK Central Office is actively working to assess the conformance status of all local and vendor platforms. Over time, the OhioLINK Central Office will extend this section of the OhioLINK Digital Accessibility Statement to include a list of platforms and their accessibility status. This may include, but is not limited to, the following data for each resource:
- Assessment method used
- “Quick test” status and date(s)
- Full manual test results and date(s)
- Future roadmap for achieving compliance with the OSU MDAS (or higher)
Feedback
We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of OhioLINK resources. OhioLINK members have a shared responsibility in the accessibility and remediation of OhioLINK shared e-resources. Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers by emailing us.
The OhioLINK Central office will respond to messages sent to accessibility@oh-tech.org within two business days and will coordinate necessary follow up actions with the appropriate member library.
Review
The statement was reviewed and approved by the OhioLINK Library Advisory Committee (LAC) on March 19, 2021.
The OhioLINK LAC will review this statement every 5 years.
