Guidelines: Software Accessibility for Open Source Digital Preservation Applications
Recognizing the importance of meeting the Library of Congress’s goals and mission related to accessibility, starting in 2023, FADGI partnered with AVP on a project aimed at enhancing accessibility in open-source desktop applications for the digital preservation community. FADGI has produced free open-source desktop tools for years and is committed to being a responsible steward with regard to accessibility.
Project Scope and Goals
The primary objective of this project is to provide broadly applicable recommendations on accessibility best practices for open-source software and showcase these practices using FADGI’s embARC as an example. To achieve this objective, the project involves several activities:
Accessibility testing and analysis: Our accessibility partner, Tech for All, with over 20 years of experience on accessibility testing, will conduct detailed analysis and reporting on the accessibility of three open-source applications related to digital preservation:
- embARC (‘metadata embedded for archival content’): enables users to manage (i.e., audit, validate and correct) embedded metadata in Digital Picture Exchange (DPX) files as individual files or an entire DPX sequence as well as SMPTE RDD 48-compliant Material Exchange Format (MXF) files including FFV1 in MXF files;
- BWF MetaEdit: supports embedding, validating, and exporting of metadata in Broadcast WAVE Format (BWF) It supports the FADGI Broadcast WAVE Metadata Embedding Guidelines. Initially funded by the Library of Congress and FADGI; designed and led by AVP; developed by MediaArea.
- Handbrake: supports multi-platform video transcoding from one format or codec to another.
Report of findings and recommendations
Final Report:
Accessibility Evaluation Report: Research and Improvements for FADGI Open-Source Software Applications. Report includes in depth explanation of recommendations.
Recommendations:
- Make use of keyboard control and navigation
- Describe and label interactive elements
- Check for color contrast, and avoid relying on color to convey meaning
- Structure content and create semantic relationships
- Consider digital preservation use cases
- Popup windows
- Tables
- Access local environment
- Digital preservation users
Accessibility Remediation Actions:
- embARC GitHub issue tracker: https://github.com/LibraryOfCongress/embARC/issues
- BWF MetaEdit GitHub issue tracker: https://github.com/MediaArea/BWFMetaEdit/issues
This project parallels work undertaken by the FADGI Audiovisual Accessibility subgroup. By collaborating on this project, FADGI, AVP, and Tech for All aim to contribute to the development and implementation of accessibility best practices in the digital preservation community. By creating an inclusive environment, we can ensure that digital preservation tools and resources are accessible to everyone, promoting a more equitable and diverse field.
Outreach and Publicity
Blog post on The Signal: New FADGI Project: Researching Accessibility in Open-Source Digital Preservation Applications May 30, 2023 by Kate Murray and Chris Lacinak
Presentation at No Time to Wait 7: Researching Accessibility in Open-Source Digital Preservation Applications, Kate Murray (LC), Joan Hua (AVP) and Chris Lacinak (AVP)
Last Updated: 11/16/2023