Dear Endeavor Sales Representatives,

As I was looking for information about your ENCompass and LinkFinderPlus
products, I was very surprised to find that your web site is largely
inaccessible to people using assistive technology, such as screen
readers, to access web-based information (see the postscript for an
example.)

I understand that your company will give a presentation about your
"one-search" products at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on
March 4th. I assume that you will make similar presentations at other
campuses. The disregard for the needs of users of assistive technology,
as reflected in your web-site design, raises severe concerns about the
accessibility of your products. I hope that during your presentations,
you will be able to demonstrate convincingly that your one-search
products, in stark contrast to your current web site, do comply with
well-published principles of accessible design (such as W3C-WAI
guidelines, Section 508 standards, IMS Guidelines for Developing
Accessible Learning Applications, and NCAM guidelines). 

Campuses across the nation will increasingly ask vendors to provide
barrier-free online products. Your products may already be designed
according to principles of accessible design. Nonetheless, I strongly
suggest that you urge management to initiate the re-design of your web
site so that it reflects (and advertises) Endeavor's commitment to an
inclusive, barrier-free information environment.


Sincerely,

Axel Schmetzke, Ph.D.
Librarian & Moderator of AXSLIB-L
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
900 Reserve Street
Stevens Point, WI 54481


PS: The following shows what people using text-only screen readers will
hear when visiting your current gateway page to product information
(http://www.endinfosys.com/products.htm):


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