Dear Everyone: The American Library Association [ALA - http://www.ala.org/] is inaugurating its new website next Monday, April 7, 2003. According to ALA's Accessibility Policy (http://www.ala.org/ascla/access_policy.html), ALA's website needs to be accessible. According to key principles of the library and information science profession - diversity, equity of access, and intellectual freedom - ALA's website needs to be accessible. After all, ALA is the home of ASCLA, ASCLA LSSPS, and the ASCLA Century Scholarship Diversity Initiative (http://www.ala.org/ascla/centuryscholarship.html) I am confident that ALA has ensured the accessibility of its new site. But why is ALA not publicizing this fact in their press releases about the new website? During the past two weeks, ALA and its components have posted various press releases about the new website. The accessibility of the new website has not been mentioned. Is Accessibility such a given these days that it can be assumed? During the past two weeks, upon first reading the press releases, I have inquired with a number of ALA offices - other than ASCLA - about the accessibility of new site. Some ALA staff did not know to what I was referring, thinking that I was referring to the availability of the new site (beginning April 7) rather than to its Accessibility (as in W3C WAI/Section 508, etc.). Achieving accessibility and equity of access is a 24-hour-a-day positive educational endeavor. We who already are accessibility advocates and self-identifying members of the class may understand the importance of accessibility, but let us not assume that accessibility is as yet perceived as universally important as it truly is. So does anyone know, is the new ALA website accessible? -------------------------------- Ellen Perlow [log in to unmask] _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail