PDA Event: Small, Meaningful Progress: Implementing a Readability Widget for a Neuro-Inclusive Library Website
Library websites may meet technical accessibility standards while still presenting barriers for users with dyslexia, ADHD, visual stress, and other reading differences. Building on earlier accessibility audits and direct feedback from a blind student worker, Hirons Library and Archives expanded its focus from screen-reader compatibility to readability and cognitive accessibility. Those earlier assessments demonstrated that automated testing and vendor documentation could not substitute for the experiences of actual users.
This presentation focuses on the library’s implementation of NC State University Libraries’ open-source Readability Widget. The widget allows users to apply the OpenDyslexic font, select a warmer background, highlight links, and hide distracting images, giving readers greater control over their digital environment. The session will examine the research behind these options, the technical challenges of adapting the widget within Springshare, mobile usability, and the collaboration required among librarians, web developers, faculty, and students. It argues that readability is not an aesthetic preference but an essential dimension of accessibility. For small libraries, meaningful progress does not necessarily require expensive software or outside consultants; it can begin with open-source tools, user feedback, thoughtful experimentation, and a willingness to design for flexibility rather than a single “typical” reader.
Presenter:
Russell “Rusty” Michalak is Director of Hirons Library and Archives at Goldey-Beacom College. His work focuses on accessibility, emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and the ways small academic libraries can translate research into practical improvements for users. He has written extensively about digital accessibility, including studies of library databases and screen-reader use, and more recently about readability and neuro-inclusive web design. His approach emphasizes listening to users, collaborating across departments, and making small, meaningful changes that expand access without requiring large budgets or specialized teams.
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