[WEB4LIB] <alt> tags

[Jenny Levine]

	The advice about "reading a Web page over the phone" should definitely
be taken to heart.  We always use ALT tags, but only recently did I
learn to think of them as isolated clues for a user with a speech
browser.
	For example, if you have a logo that links to a database and your ALT
tag says "Name of database", the person *hearing* the name of the
database may not realize that it is a link.  A more appropriate ALT tag
would be "Link to name of database", especially for users who tab
through Web pages.
	We recently did some workshops about Web site accessibility, and we're
just now getting the video files posted on our Web site.  You can learn
more about the project, view a few clips from the first session, and
find links to additional resources from
http://www.sls.lib.il.us/accessibility/.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jenny Levine				125 Tower Drive
Internet Development Specialist		Burr Ridge, IL 60521
Suburban Library System			+1 (630) 734 5141
http://www.sls.lib.il.us/		levinej at sls.lib.il.us
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"Elizabeth Badeaux 225.231-3720" wrote:
> 
> Good afternoon all,
> 
> I have recently begun adding alt tags to the images on our web site.
> However, I am not sure I am going about naming the images in the correct
> way.  It seems to me there are several possible ways to do this: one could
> describe the image itself, describe what it does, or describe what it
> "goes with."
> 
> For instance, I have images next to many of the categories of links on our
> "Recommended Sites" page.  One is a bookworm surrounded by books which is
> next to our "Literature" links.  The image itself is not a link, but I
> have added "Literature" as the alt tag.  Should the alt tag read
> "Bookworm"?  Another example is on our main page.  In the left hand frame,
> I have a link to "Taxpayer Assistance Programs" with a small image of the
> word new in gold letters on a red sunburst.  My alt tag is simply "New."
> Should it be  "Taxpayer Assistance Programs" (the image itself is not part
> of the link)?
> 
> I'm really confused by this! I'd appreciate any examples or advice anyone
> is able to give.
> 
> Our web site is http://www.ebr.lib.la.us/ and the "Recommended Sites" page
> is http://www.ebr.lib.la.us/html/resource.htm.
> 
> Thanks for any and all help,
> 
> Elizabeth
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Elizabeth Badeaux                       Voice:  225-231-3720
> Librarian, Computer Division            Fax:    225-231-3788
> East Baton Rouge Parish Library         E-mail: ebadeaux at ebr.lib.la.us
> 7711 Goodwood Blvd.
> Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------