QR codes and accessibility

Tue Sep 4 10:03:29 EDT 2012

Thanks, Hugh. That's helpful. I think we should be OK, since we're
just directing them to info that's already available on our web site.
I have been wondering how we are supposed to provide the same
experience for everyone, and I think you're right that we don't have
to.

Deborah

On Sat, Sep 1, 2012 at 1:18 PM, Jarvis, Hugh <hjarvis at buffalo.edu> wrote:
> Is the QR code the ONLY way to access critical information...?
>
> Then agreed, we would need to provide a workaround or parallel way to use that information for all users, ADA-related or not (e.g. people who don't have a smart phone handy).  That could be a visible URL (probably a tinyurl) or a printout of the key information somewhere.
>
>
> But if this is an extra feature, then not sure why you legally need to provide an 'identical' experience for everyone.
>
> That's not the spirit of our own regulations.  Equivalent experience without too much extra effort for the client or the publisher is the way we read the regs.
>
>
> Also don't forget that people with special needs have their own workarounds -- that's what you need to support.
>
> I would find out what tools your audience is actually using. Talk to your campus accessibility office.
>
> Cheers,
>
>         Hugh Jarvis
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Deborah Stanley [mailto:dstanley at UGA.EDU]
> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 4:18 PM
> Subject: Re: QR codes and accessibility
>
> Hi. Yes, I'm discovering more about this as I dig into it, and I can see there must be all kinds of problems. Interestingly, there is a new Android phone (or software you can download to your Android phone) called Georgie, which is for visually impaired users:
> http://paritynews.com/hardware/item/52-georgie-smartphone-for-the-blind-visually-impaired
> . It's from the UK. Looks like you can get it here too:
> http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/16/georgie-app-offers-up-android-features-and-voice-guided-menus-visually-impaired/
>
> Someone just told me that SIRI on the iPhone can read QR codes, btw.
>
> Deborah
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 4:09 PM, Collins, Matthew S <mscolli at emory.edu> wrote:
>> I don't have an answer on the ADA issue. But the issue is actually slight more (or less) complicated, since most new smart-phones have touch screens rather than buttons.  These phones are inherently difficult for the visually impaired to use.
>>
>> -Matthew
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> Matthew Collins, PhD, MLIS
>> mscolli at emory.edu
>> -----------------------------
>>
>> |-----Original Message-----
>> |From: Web technologies in libraries [mailto:WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU]
>> |On Behalf Of Deborah Stanley
>> |Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 3:30 PM
>> |To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
>> |Subject: [WEB4LIB] QR codes and accessibility
>> |
>> |Hi. I've received an interesting question that I'm hoping someone
>> |here might be able to shed some light on. Looking at what we do from
>> |an ADA compliance point of view, we are required to provide the same
>> |information to patrons with disabilities as we are to patrons without
>> |disabilities. Specifically, I was asked what libraries do to make QR
>> |codes ADA-compliant, i.e. how does a visually impaired or totally
>> |blind patron access the same information that a sighted person, using a QR code, can access with their smartphone?
>> |
>> |I must admit, I am having a hard time figuring out what the issues
>> |really are, and I haven't found anything very specific on the web
>> |either. I think there are a couple of issues (at least!) with this,
>> |and I'm wondering if any libraries out there have addressed this in any way?
>> |
>> |Presumably if someone has a phone with an app that can read print
>> |(i.e. hard copy print such as posters, fliers, handouts), we could
>> |put the URL next to the QR code, so that the phone could read it. We
>> |should be doing that anyway, in order to provide access for people
>> |without smartphones. I don't know if phones are able to detect that
>> |there is a QR code nearby and direct a visually impaired patron
>> |towards it (?), or if phones that can read physical print items can
>> |also detect a QR code within that print page, and decode it and direct the user to a website.
>> |
>> |If anyone has any thoughts or insights on this, or any experience to
>> |share on what their library does, I would be very grateful for your feedback.
>> |
>> |Many thanks,
>> |Deborah Stanley
>> |
>> |--
>> |Deborah Stanley
>> |UGA Libraries Web Editor, Germanic & Slavic Studies Librarian,
>> |Reference Librarian University of Georgia Libraries Athens GA 30602
>> |
>> |dstanley at uga.edu
>> |Phone: (706) 542-0656
>> |Fax: (706) 583-0268
>> |http://www.libs.uga.edu/staffpages/stanley.html
>> |
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>> |Web4Lib Web Site: http://web4lib.org/
>> |
>> |2012-08-31
>>
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>> 2012-08-31
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>
>
>
> --
> Deborah Stanley
> UGA Libraries Web Editor, Germanic & Slavic Studies Librarian, Reference Librarian University of Georgia Libraries Athens GA 30602
>
> dstanley at uga.edu
> Phone: (706) 542-0656
> Fax: (706) 583-0268
> http://www.libs.uga.edu/staffpages/stanley.html
>
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> 2012-09-01
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>

-- 
Deborah Stanley
UGA Libraries Web Editor, Germanic & Slavic Studies Librarian,
Reference Librarian
University of Georgia Libraries
Athens GA 30602

dstanley at uga.edu
Phone: (706) 542-0656
Fax: (706) 583-0268
http://www.libs.uga.edu/staffpages/stanley.html

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2012-09-04