Hello!

We recently acquired a federated system from ExLibris and here is the
report from my colleague who served on the "search committee" for this
endeavor:

 We have asked ExLibris these questions and they have always said they
were fully compliant w/section 508.  I will be interested in reading the
responses they give to the listserv.  --

Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
Information Services Librarian
Taubman Medical Library
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor MI 48109
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On Mon, 6 Oct 2003, Schmetzke, Axel wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> Last week, I listened to presentations by Exlibris and Endeavor sales
> representatives pertaining to their new federated search tools: MetaLib
> and ENCOMPASS. Federated searching is based on the idea of a
> one-stop-search-all approach and involves a single gateway to a variety
> of different finding aids, including library catalogs, journal
> indexes/databases and web search engines. Obviously, the accessibility
> of federated search interfaces is very important. If these interfaces
> are accessible, then users have access to information even if the
> "native" interfaces of specific finding aids are inaccessible.
>
> I am going to invite the Exlibris and Endeavor representatives to
> comment publicly on the accessibility of their federated search
> products. Their comments will be posted to this group.
>
> I was thinking of asking the representatives to respond to the five
> questions listed below. If you can think of additional questions, feel
> free to share these with me, and I will consider adding them to the
> list. Also, if you know of other companies offering federated search
> products, please let me know. The names of sales reps, phone numbers and
> their e-mail addresses would be very helpful.
>
> Questions for sales representatives:
>
> 1. To which extent does the current version of your product comply with
> relevant Section 508 standards?
> 2. To which extent does the current version of your product conform to
> the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (either the current WCAG 1.0 or
> the drafted WCAG 2.0) developed by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web
> Accessibility Initiative (WAI)?
> 3. To which extent did the usability testing of your product involve
> people accessing computers with the help of assistive technology? Which
> specific screen readers were used to test the accessibility/usability of
> your product?
> 4. In which way will the changes envisioned for the next version of your
> product improve its accessibility and usability for users of assistive
> technology?
> 5. If your product currently lacks full compliance with Section 508,
> what is your company doing to bring about full compliance? By when can
> full compliance be expected?
>
> Greetings,
>
> Axel
>
>
> ***************************
> Axel Schmetzke, Ph.D.
> Library
> University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
> 715-346-4658
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ---------------------------
> September online courses on accessible information technology:
> Barrier-free Information Technology http://easi.cc/workshops/adaptit.htm
> Advanced Barrier-free Web Design http://easi.cc/workshops/advwbsyl.htm
> LD and Information Technology http://easi.cc/workshops/ld.htm
> EASI Home Page http://www.rit.edu/~easi
> CCourses and Clinics http://easi.cc/workshop.htm
> Check the EASI Library Web http://www.rit.edu/~easi/lib.htm
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---------------------------
September online courses on accessible information technology:
Barrier-free Information Technology http://easi.cc/workshops/adaptit.htm
Advanced Barrier-free Web Design http://easi.cc/workshops/advwbsyl.htm
LD and Information Technology http://easi.cc/workshops/ld.htm
EASI Home Page http://www.rit.edu/~easi
CCourses and Clinics http://easi.cc/workshop.htm
Check the EASI Library Web http://www.rit.edu/~easi/lib.htm
To sign off this list:
Send e-mail to [log in to unmask] saying
signoff axslib-l