Media Accessibility Special : eGov Monitor assesses Access to on Museums and Archives

"Digital Heritage Not Open to All" and "Museums, libraries and archives lead the way in website accessibility" are two stories from eGov Monitor looking at the accessibility of UK public resources online.

The articles report on the very best and the worst of performances. The biennial Jodi Mattes Accessibility Awards for website accessibility in museums, libraries and archives were announced in the same week as the publication of a national report assessing accessibility standards across the sector.

Awards went to www.webwords.org, Library and Information Services at the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, and www.pewsey-heritage-centre.org.uk, Wiltshire County Council Museums Service.

Meanwhile, the public audit of 300 library, museum and archive websites found that six out of 10 failed the most basic Web accessibility tests. 'Research by City University for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) showed that only three percent of sites tested met the accessibility standards that government websites are expected to achieve by December 2005.' However, the findings are a significant improvement on similar checks a year ago, when just 19% of websites complied with basic accessibility guidelines.

Associated Link: eGov Monitor: Digital Heritage Not Open to All

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

And what do you do?
Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.