The purpose of the Working Group for Accessibility Metadata and Accessible Formats is to provide guidance on representing accessibility metadata in national bibliographies, and on related matters such as legal deposit of accessible formats and relationships with publishers, union catalogues and other metadata providers.

Purpose

The scope of work of the working group is to:

  • Exchange information about existing work and accomplishments in the domain of accessibility.
  • Highlight the role and responsibility of National Bibliographic Agencies in applying and promoting accessibility metadata.
  • Provide guidelines for the description and representation of accessibility metadata in national bibliographies.
  • Support National Bibliographic Agencies in adopting new practices for accessibility metadata.
  • Encourage National Bibliographic Agencies to strengthen their role as an interface between the publishing and library sectors.
  • Work on increasing the inclusivity of national bibliographies and library catalogues by displaying and indexing accessibility metadata.
  • Promote the availability of accessible formats through national bibliographies and library catalogues.
  • Monitor the development of relevant standards and guidelines in W3C and other standardization bodies.

Focus areas

The focus areas of the working group are accessibility metadata and accessible formats from the perspective of national bibliographies and the role of the national bibliographic agencies. Specifically, the working group’s focus is to provide guidance on representing accessibility metadata in national bibliographies. Other focuses stem from the unique contexts of the national bibliographic agencies permitting them to be influential in the national landscape in matters related to accessibility metadata and accessible formats, including their integration into the national bibliographic control and legal deposit.

Membership

The working group is comprised from the Standing Committee members of the IFLA Bibliography Section.

Work methodology

  • The working group works remotely through a shared online workspace and holds regular meetings to discuss progress and share expertise.
  • Sub-groups may be formed to focus on specific aspects of the work, focus areas or targeted outputs.
  • Communication and collaboration with relevant groups inside and outside IFLA, such as IFLA’s Network on Accessibility Metadata. Collaboration with relevant IFLA’s units as Advisory Committee on Copyright and Legal Matters, National Libraries Section in some areas or activities as well as with libraries and relevant institutions and organizations within the scope of work of the working group is encouraged.
  • Members are encouraged to benefit from their connections within their institutions and professional circles in specific activities and outputs.

Terms of office

The working group is expected to be an ongoing working group to support national bibliographies in adopting sustainable workflows for recording and displaying accessibility metadata.

Reporting and communication

The Chair of the working group reports to the Bibliography Section Chair. The Chair communicates about the progress of working group in SC meetings and in regular progress reports, and shares inputs to update the working group action plan progress. As the Bibliography Section is a sponsoring committee of the Accessibility Metadata Network, the Chair of the working group also represents Bibliography Section in the Network.