Section 508 Standards
Accessibility Statement
In 2017–2018, guidelines under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act were updated to include new accessibility provisions for information and communication technology (ICT) and electronic content. Entities that receive federal funds must follow these standards. Implementation deadlines have been set for 2026 and 2027. Similar provisions under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) apply to state and local governments.
Backstage Library Works provides services to create and enrich electronic content, primarily in two categories: catalog metadata and digital images of documents, photos, and other archival materials.
A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) outlines the capabilities of a software system. If your software vendor's VPAT provides specific suggestions to enhance access to content hosted on their platform, please share those details with us.
Catalog Metadata
MARC Records
Library catalog metadata is usually in MARC format and feeds the search engine of an Integrated Library System (ILS) or similar discovery platform. This metadata allows patrons to find library resources through keyword and controlled field searches.
Authority Control
Our authority control service helps a library keep its catalog up to date as nomenclature and language usage change. A properly maintained catalog, with up-to-date name and subject headings, makes library resources more accessible to all patrons.
Local Display
Catalog metadata is a mix of public-facing content and machine readable codes that help the ILS make use of the data. Which elements are shown and how images and text are displayed depend on the capabilities and settings of the discovery software.
Metadata Standards
Backstage provides catalog metadata in accordance with format and content standards, such as MARC 21 and RDA, so a discovery platform compliant with Section 508 will have the data it needs to guide screen readers and other assistive technologies.
Digital Images
Text from Images
Libraries and archives digitize materials to make the content available for research. Backstage uses optical character recognition (OCR) software to convert pixel shapes into computer readable text. This facilitates the use of assistive technologies for search and for reader access to the full text.
Beyond OCR
Standard OCR engines don’t read handwriting. If converting handwritten text is important to your accessibility goals, we can arrange for manual transcription or explore approaches to text extraction driven by machine learning. We always discuss options with our clients when considering an AI solution.
Description + Markup
Descriptive metadata makes digital images more accessible. We can tag article segments in newspapers, mark names and dates in correspondence, or add geodata to photo sets. We work with MODS, METS/ALTO, Dublin Core, and other standards to meet description and markup needs.
Accessible Content
Your digital asset management (DAM) platform controls how your images are displayed on your local network and online. When we’re digitizing your collections, let us know if your DAM requires metadata in specific fields or formats to accomplish your accessibility goals.
