Libraries all over the world have one thing in common (besides books).
If you look at the mission statement of most any library, you will likely find a sentence about equal access to information for all.
I believe most libraries truly want to provide equal access. Libraries work hard to make sure information is available to people living in disenfranchised communities. They translate brochures into native languages. They provide resources to combat economic disparity. They play a role in distributing information on mental health, addiction, and housing inequity.
But to truly live up to that mission, we need to use the same amount of energy and focus to make the library accessible to people living with disabilities.
One in five people around the globe live with a disability. Libraries will never be truly inclusive until they design services, programs, and marketing with this group in mind.
Angie Brunk changed my life, and the way I think about marketing and inclusivity. Her popular presentation at the 2019 Library Marketing and Communication Conference made me re-evaluate everything I do. I follow many of her suggestions now as I blog and post on social media.
She made me realize that many people live with hidden disabilities, and that libraries have a long way to go to be truly inclusive. For your library to be accessible, you’ll need to do more than add ramps and elevators in a building. You’ll need to make sure your digital offerings, your website, and your social media are all accessible to your patrons with disabilities.
Here are some suggestions on where to start.
Accessibility on your library website
Everything you create on the web must comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Bookmark that site because it’s your guidebook for all your online projects.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are developed with individuals and organizations around the world. The goal is to provide a single shared standard for text, images, sound, codes, and more… basically, everything that appears on the internet. Here is the quick reference guide for the latest version of the guidelines.
Consider how easy or difficult it is for patrons with disabilities to find information about your library’s accessibility on your website. You’ll also want to create an accessibility statement, which should be as easy for people to find as your circulation policy or standards of library behavior policy.
Your statement should include information on the accessibility of your physical buildings, the accessibility of your vendor-provided services like eBooks and databases, and your library’s stance on service animals, support personnel, and assistive technology. Include contact information so community members can report a concern or ask a question about accessibility.
Some great examples of library accessibility statements include the policy of the University of Birmingham and this policy from the Toronto Public Library.
Accessibility in design and marketing
Create personas with disabilities, just as you would for other demographic groups. This will help you to imagine how those users will interact with your events, services, and promotions.
As you consider this, ask yourself these questions:
- What does the persona have to do to find the information about your library?
- What senses or physical tasks are involved in using your library services and how does that impact patrons with disabilities?
- What barriers will disabled community members encounter?
Next, seek out patrons with disabilities and ask them to provide feedback on your website and social media marketing. Incorporate what you learn about accessibility from your patrons into your library marketing style guide.
Accessibility in written library marketing content
As you create content, you should check four main components to ensure accessibility.
- Cognitive: How much time must a user spend with my content to truly interpret and understand it?
- Dexterity: What kind of physical movement must a user perform to interact with my library’s website or with the content I’m creating on other digital platforms, like email and social media?
- Hearing: What sound does my content produce that are required for a user to consume my content?
- Vision: What shapes, colors, text, and graphics must a user understand to consume my content?
Once you’ve tackled those four questions, there are a few other small accommodations you can make to ensure everyone can have access to your library marketing content.
First, descriptive text is a must for all images on your website, social media, and in email. Make that text meaningful. Really describe what is happening in the image. I confess I often skipped this step before Brunk’s session. Now, I add descriptive text on all social media posts and on my blog images.
Next, check to see if your graphics are screen reader compatible. Avoid using anything that can’t be shared with the vision impaired through a screen reader. This article does a really good job of explaining screen readers and how they work.
The best way to check your graphics is to install a screen reader for yourself. Run your visual promotions through the screen reader before you release them and adjust when you find incompatibility issues.
Finally, make sure all videos on social media, YouTube, and your website are captioned. And just like with the descriptive image text, really take the time to explain what is happening in the video.
If you are posting a video on Facebook or Instagram, describe what will happen in the video in your post! This will help patrons with visual disabilities to fully understand your video content.
Additional resources for libraries
The latest version of Microsoft Office includes an accessibility checker! Here’s the guide for how to use it.
Usability.gov has a wealth of information, templates, tools, and advice.
The American Library Association has a special section of their website dedicated to accessibility with a host of helpful tools and tips.
The Library Marketing Show: Make Your Library Website Accessible!
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It’s Not Personal: How to Deal with Negative Comments and Bad Online Reviews of Your Library
The lowest moment in my library career came about four years ago, when my library endured a year of bad press.
First, a local TV news station ran a story about drug overdoses at the library. Then, our administration briefly entertained the idea of selling a portion of our main library building to a developer, to raise funds for the renovation of other library branches in our system. You can imagine how the community surrounding the main library reacted.
Our marketing department handled the press coverage well. But, in the fallout, we noticed that the negative press coverage led to negative reviews of our library.
Our services hadn’t changed. Our commitment to the community hadn’t changed. But the negative news stories changed the public’s perception of us.
It played out several times a week when we would post announcements on social media. We were met with comments from people who used those posts to try and steer the conversation to the negative library coverage. I admit, it was exhausting and frustrating.
If you are lucky enough never to be the target of negative press coverage, your library will still have to deal with negative comments, one-star reviews, and NextDoor drama. Even when you are trying to make a difference in the community, you’ll be targeted by complainers.
Negativity is bad for you and bad for your library
Ignoring negative reviews and comments is not an option. They have the power to damage your library’s reputation. A study by Moz.com shows one negative review can drive as many as 30 people away from your library. The more negative reviews and comments you have, the more people you lose, according to the data.
Negative reviews can also hurt your library’s ranking in search. Search engines generally list the highest ranked organizations and businesses first.
What can you do?
It doesn’t matter if your library is giving away $10 bills with every checkout… someone is going to find something to complain about. They’ll probably do it online.
It’s hard to know how to handle the situation when an irate, antagonistic library user posts a negative review on a social media site or website. Your immediate reaction is to jump into firefighter mode, drag out the fully charged hose, and put out the flames… pronto.
But it’s important to take step back and see the opportunity in that negative review. It’s your chance to turn that angry user into an evangelist for your library.
If that sounds like an extreme possibility, I want you to read this post by Jay Baer. I’ve heard Jay speak at several conferences. He has taught me everything I know about turning negative reviews into positive customer experiences.
Create a process for responding
A plan for responding to negative reviews and comments is a form of a crisis communication plan. If you have a plan in place before you’re confronted with negativity, you can put your emotional reaction aside and respond calmly, rationally, and with empathy.
A thoughtful and measured response to a negative comment makes your library look human. When you respond to critics, you show that you value all your customers and their opinions. Your plan will have four components.
Respond as quickly as possible. It’s important to address the issue as soon as you can. Talk with staff and senior leaders about monitoring your social media channels and email as closely as you can. There should always be someone who can check the accounts, even at night or on the weekends. If you don’t, you’ll run the risk of other haters hijacking the thread and turning one bad review into a free-for-all.
Don’t censor. Unless the comment violates your social media or website standards of behavior, don’t hide the comment.
If the problem cannot be solved easily online, take it offline. Apologize and address the complainer with empathy, then ask them to contact you by email. You can say, “I’m sorry to hear you are having this problem. We want to make it right. Could you email me at **** and give me some more details about your experience? Then I can make sure your issue gets in front of the right person and is addressed.”
But try to remember that you cannot please everyone. Occasionally, someone will complain about something and you will not be able to fix the problem. Apologize, explain your library’s side of the situation as best you can, and move on.
Encourage library fans to give positive reviews to outweigh negative reviews and increase your overall search engine rankings. Find ways to solicit reviews from the people who love your library. Amplify those good reviews by sharing them on social media, in emails, and in your print promotional material.
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Four Daring Ways to Fight Library Haters
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