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Title:
Accessibility for Everybody: Understanding the Section 508 Accessibility Requirements
Review:
As regular FreePint readers will be aware, 'Section 508' refers to the
section of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that was amended in
1998 to include a set of standards for accessible electronic and
information technology. In this context, accessibility is defined as
the art of making IT applications easy to use. In particular this is
designed to benefit users with special needs (for example, those with
physical disabilities).
http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/index.htm
The Section 508 regulations affect not just web-based applications,
but IT applications in general. The regulations are complex: although
primarily for a U.S. audience, they could also have implications for
foreign businesses and contractors that intend to do business within
the United States.
In this context, John Paul Mueller's excellent guide to Section 508
provides a weighty (528 pages, 2.8 pounds on the bathroom scales)
overview of the main issues created by the legislation. Although
primarily targeted at developers, the book, in the words of the
author, was written 'with the idea that anyone could read it anywhere
and still get something from it'. Despite its bulk, 'Accessibility for
Everybody' is very readable, and there is a benign, late '60s tone
throughout (borne out by the photo of Mr Mueller on the back cover).
After an initial discussion of the law itself, the book describes the
hardware issues that developers will need to know about in order to
develop accessible applications. These are accompanied by guidelines
on how to create such applications, as well as details of a range of
tools to aid accessible development (such as a colour blindness
simulator). Mueller also provides a detailed description of Microsoft
accessibility features, describing them as 'the best-kept secret of
Windows', and showing how they may be used to test the performance of
one's applications.
It is not until the second half of the book that web applications are
specifically discussed, with a range of tips on how to design and test
accessible sites. These chapters provide quite a detailed description
of 'usage cues', ranging from simplistic tagging mechanisms (use of the
'alt' tag, for example) through to more complex guidance on the use of
style sheets in developing accessible sites.
As well as appendices detailing useful sources of information for
further advice, there is a handy checklist printed on the book's inner
covers: 'John's top 20 tips for creating accessible applications'. Tip
7 points out that 'fun is a three-letter word that all developers
should include in their vocabulary'. It is a tribute to the author
that he practices what he preaches: although weighty, 'Accessibility
for Everyone' is an informative and surprisingly entertaining account
of the main issues relating to Section 508.
Free Pint Reviewer:
Bill Raschen is an Information Professional and Web designer whose
experience has included project managing and managing intranets for
large organizations. He has also acted as a consultant and
troubleshooter on matters including the redesign of intranets and the
rollout of Content Management Systems. His professional interests
include the usability and accessibility of large web resources, and
the design of taxonomies. Outside of work, he is a keen amateur
astronomer and runner, with a large collection of CDs made by hoodlums
from Detroit and Ladbroke Grove.
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