It is important that Indiana University’s LibGuides can be accessed and used by all of our patrons. In order to achieve this goal, we advise LibGuide creators to apply basic web accessibility principles when creating their guides. This chapter details some actions that LibGuide creators can take to enhance the accessibility of their guides.

Readability

HTML Headings

In the LibGuide box editing interface, there is a dropdown menu in which creators can select how the text in their guides is formatted. Here, creators can select from many formatting options including, including numbered HTML headings (Heading 3, Heading 4, Heading 5, etc…; we refer to these headings as H3, H4, and H5, respectively). Virtually all webpages use HTML headings to organize the information within them. In this very chapter, for instance, the ‘Readability’ heading is formatted as H1, and the ‘HTML Headings’ heading is formatted as H2 because it is subordinate to ‘Readability’.

In LibGuides, the title of the LibGuide is formatted as H1, and the title of each box is formatted as H2. LibGuide creators can use H3, H4, H5, and H6 headings to structure the plain text within each box. While the visual prominence of HTML headings enables users to skim the content of a webpage, they are not purely cosmetic: headings encode the hierarchy of information within a webpage. This has serious implications for webpage discoverability and accessibility:

• search engines use headings to index the structure and content of your webpage (W3Schools, n.d., “HTML Headings“); and
• screen-readers for visually impaired users often rely on headings to present the content of a webpage in the correct order.

LibGuide creators should follow the guidance below regarding HTML headings:

Use headings to break up information whenever possible.

Users rarely read a webpage from start to finish, and they often ignore large blocks of plain text. Structuring your content with headings will help users to more quickly find the information they need from your LibGuide.

Ensure that your headings are formatted as HTML headings.

When creating a heading, don’t just increase the font size or embolden plain text. Instead, type the heading text on its own line, highlight it, then select the appropriate heading from the ‘Paragraph Format’ dropdown list.

Format your HTML headings correctly.

It is important that your HTML headings are ordered correctly. As a rule, HTML headings should be used sequentially. That is, sub-headings for subordinate content should use the next highest numbered heading as the previous (for example, use H4 for content that is subordinate to content headed by H3). Skipping headings can negatively impact the performance of screen readers.

Creators can change the appearance of a headings (e.g. bold, italic, underlined, font size, etc.) after the heading format has been applied.

Defining Jargon

It is also important that the content of our LibGuides is presented clearly and intelligibly to all users. To aid in this, we advise defining any jargon or specialized terms upon first use. Creators should also explain the full names of initialisms and acronyms on first use. Taking these steps will help our users quickly glean the scope and content of your guide and determine whether they should explore your resources further or search elsewhere. Even if users might already know what these specialized terms mean, defining them can assure users that they are in the right place!

For example, in the Topical & General Purpose Guide, ‘Open Access,’ the first box on the Home Page features a definition of Open Access, its significance, and links to other background resources on the topic.

Similarly, in the Topical & General Purpose Guide, ‘Women and STEAM Fields,’ the STEAM acronym is spelled out on first use in the body text:

“Historically, girls and women have been discouraged from pursuing STEAM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) due to widely held social attitudes about those fields as male domains.”

Structured Lists

Using structured lists can help to de-clutter and streamline the appearance of your LibGuides, as they visually break up large blocks of plain text. They are also very useful for drafting instructions with multiple steps (as shown below). We advise formatting lists of four or more items as bulleted or numbered lists.

To add a new structured list from scratch:

1. Start a new line of text and press the numbered or bulleted list buttons in the toolbar.
2. Input your text for one list item, and then press ‘Enter’ to add another item.
   1. You can press ‘Tab’ to indent the number or bullet (as seen here). This starts the numbering over from 1, and is useful for creating sub-lists.
   2. Pressing ‘Enter’ while in an empty indented bullet or number will take you back to the previous level of indentation.
3. Pressing ‘Enter’ while your text cursor is active in an empty bullet or number will bring you back to normal text formatting.

To convert existing text to a structured list:

1. Ensure that each list item starts on its own line (it’s okay if any items are too long to fit on one line).
2. Highlight all of the items.
3. Press the numbered or bulleted list buttons in the toolbar.