As libraries, archives, and cultural institutions continue to digitise their collections, the opportunity to broaden access to history has never been greater. But true access isn’t just about putting content online — it’s about ensuring that everyone can engage with it, regardless of ability.

Accessibility sits at the heart of this challenge. In this article, we explore why accessibility matters, what the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) mean in practice, and how organisations can take meaningful steps toward more inclusive digital experiences.

Understanding the Need for Accessibility

Digitised historical archives — spanning newspapers, magazines, books, photographs, letters, and audio recordings — serve a wide range of communities. Ensuring equitable access for everyone, including people with visual, motor, cognitive, and hearing challenges, is essential so that history can be discovered, experienced, and enjoyed by all.

For some, accessibility can mean the difference between connection and exclusion. This includes people with motor disabilities, such as cerebral palsy or hand tremors from Parkinson’s disease, who may rely on keyboard navigation, voice commands, or adaptive devices instead of a mouse. Others with low or blurred vision, perhaps from age-related cataracts, may depend on screen readers or high-contrast displays to engage with content. People with cognitive or learning differences, including dyslexia, dementia, or anxiety disorders, may find complex layouts or inconsistent menus overwhelming. Even something as simple as excessive manual data entry can cause fatigue for those with arthritis or repetitive strain injuries.

Thankfully, accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) now provide a framework to guide organisations toward more inclusive digital design. Without them, many communities are unintentionally locked out of history. A page of text hidden inside an image can sound like silence to someone using a screen reader. Colours that look stylish to one person might blur into invisibility for those with low vision. Menus that shift from page to page can leave users with cognitive challenges disoriented, while functions that can’t be accessed without a mouse can make it nearly impossible for someone with limited mobility to explore a site at all.

With new laws like the ADA Title II Final Rule and updates to WCAG 2.2, accessibility is no longer a “nice to have” — it’s a requirement shaping how libraries, museums, and archives serve their communities online.

Understanding the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

What Is WCAG and Why Does It Matter?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Meeting WCAG isn’t just about compliance — it’s about ensuring everyone can access and experience online content, and in our sector, explore history without barriers.

A Brief History of WCAG

Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, inventor of the internet (as well as HTML, the URL system, and HTTP), first brought accessibility into the spotlight in 1994 during his speech at the second International World Wide Web Conference, where he declared that “access (to the internet) by everyone, regardless of disability, is an essential aspect.”

In 1999, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) released the first version of WCAG. Centred on HTML — fitting for its time — WCAG 1.0 offered 14 guidelines to make online content more accessible.

Nearly a decade later, WCAG 2.0 expanded its scope to include not just websites, but also applications and digital documents. It introduced 61 success criteria built around four key principles: that content must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust (interpreted reliably).

WCAG 2.1, released in 2018, built upon this foundation by adding 17 new success criteria designed to reflect advances in technology and to improve accessibility for users with mobile devices, low vision, and cognitive impairments.

The latest version, WCAG 2.2, was released in 2023 and adds a further nine success criteria, reflecting ongoing efforts to refine and expand digital accessibility standards.

How WCAG is Organized 

Since WCAG 2.0, each new version has expanded on the last, so meeting WCAG 2.2 also meets the requirements of WCAG 2.1 and WCAG 2.0.

The guidelines and success criteria across all versions are grouped into three levels of conformance — A, AA, and AAA — each representing the degree of impact on accessibility:

• Level A: These are the essential requirements that must be met. If they aren’t, some people will find it impossible to access or use parts of your website or digital content.

• Level AA: Organisations should do their best to meet the requirements at this level, as doing so ensures that most people — including those with different accessibility needs — can navigate, read, and interact with online content without major barriers.

• Level AAA: This level encourages organisations to take extra steps to make it easier for people — including those with disabilities — to access online. .

What’s Next After WCAG 2.2?

WCAG 3.0 (code-named “Silver”) — the internal nickname used by the W3C Accessibility Guidelines Working Group — is still several years away, but development is already underway to broaden its scope beyond traditional web content.

The new guidelines will cover applications, tools, and emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, voice-controlled interfaces, and other multimodal experiences that blend visual, audio, and interactive inputs.

Because of this expanded focus, the W3C has indicated that WCAG 3.0 will introduce a new structure and conformance model, offering greater flexibility and a stronger emphasis on real-world user experience.

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Why Accessibility Compliance Matters for the GLAM Sector

Accessibility isn’t just ethical — it’s strategic. Inclusive design expands audience reach, strengthens community trust, and reduces legal risk. For the GLAM sector, compliance with WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 ensures public funding eligibility, aligns with open-access principles, and futureproofs digital collections for all users.

For someone using a screen reader, OCR technology is what turns a scanned page into searchable, readable text. While it isn’t perfect — especially with older newspapers and printed publications — accessibility is about reducing those barriers so more of our shared history can be experienced by everyone.

Legislation and Accessibility Standards (US)

In the United States, most libraries, museums, historical societies, and university archives are state or local government entities or receive state and federal funding, which makes them subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This legislation ensures that the programs, services, and activities provided by these organisations — whether offered in person or online — are accessible to people with disabilities.

Where the ADA originally fell short was in defining what “accessible” meant in a digital context. Without clear technical standards, many of the online improvements that disability communities expected never materialised.

ADA Title II Final Rule 2024

To close this gap the Department of Justice issued a Final Rule in April 2024, updating Title II so that all state and local government websites and mobile apps must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards. Deadlines were also set to give organisations time to meet the new standards:

• By 24 April 2026 for larger state and local government agencies that serve 50,000 or more people

• By 26 April 2027 for smaller agencies serving fewer than 50,000 people.

Although no specific penalties have been published, not meeting the new standards could still lead to accessibility complaints, legal action, or investigations by the Department of Justice. Taking proactive steps toward compliance helps reduce risk — and, more importantly, ensures everyone can access public information equally.

Global Accessibility Standards: How Other Countries Are Responding

In other parts of the world, public sector organisations are moving quickly to adopt WCAG 2.2 Level AA. For example:

• In New Zealand, The Government Chief Digital Officer introduced a Web Accessibility Standard 1.2 in 2025 requiring all government websites to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Every public-facing and internal webpage must now be designed so that everyone — including people with disabilities — can use them with ease.

• The European Union follows the EN 301 549 accessibility standards, which aligns with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Under the Web Accessibility Directive, public-sector websites were required to meet these standards from 2020, and mobile applications from 2021. The European Accessibility Act, extended these requirements to parts of the private sector from 2025, covering certain products and services such as banking, e-commerce, and ticketing platforms.

• In the UK, accessibility regulations for public-sector websites and mobile apps are now based on WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Government monitoring of compliance began in late 2024 to help ensure digital services are inclusive and easy to navigate for all users.

• In Australia, while the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) aims to prevent discrimination in access to online information and services, only the Australian Government’s Digital Service Standard specifies technical requirements — requiring all government websites to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Together, these updates reflect a global shift toward stronger accessibility expectations and a shared commitment to making digital spaces inclusive for all.

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Choosing Software Partners Who Meet Accessibility Standards

For many institutions, accessibility compliance depends not only on internal practices but also on the accessibility of the software they use.

Introducing new software platforms often means partnering with third-party vendors to bring new services and applications to life. However, it’s still the organisation’s responsibility to make sure the platforms meet WCAG accessibility standards. That’s why careful consideration and due diligence are essential when selecting a software partner.

Accessibility Conformance Report

Before partnering with a software vendor, it’s important to ask for an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR).

Most ACRs are created using the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) developed by the Information Technology Industry Council. This should be followed up by requesting a demo that shows the accessibility features outlined in the ACR in action.

Understanding VPAT Templates

A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a self-assessment completed by the software provider to describe how its product meets accessibility standards. While not an independent audit, it is a well-established and globally recognised framework that promotes transparency and accountability in accessibility reporting.

There are four VPAT® editions, each aligned with different accessibility standards around the world:

• VPAT® WCAG – As the name suggests, this template covers the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), including the latest WCAG 2.2 criteria.

• VPAT® EU – Aligns with the European EN 301 549 accessibility requirements, mapping them to WCAG criteria.

• VPAT® 508 – Used mainly in the US, this version follows the Revised Section 508 Standards, which are based on WCAG 2.0, and apply to federal agencies and their suppliers.

• VPAT® INT (International) – Combines all three frameworks (WCAG, Section 508, and EN 301 549) into one template for organisations operating globally.

Each VPAT edition follows the same structure, making it easy to see:

• Which WCAG version (and related framework) the product was evaluated against — and because WCAG versions are backwards compatible, a product that meets WCAG 2.2 also meets 2.1 and 2.0.

• Which conformance levels (A, AA, AAA) each feature supports.

This consistent format helps organisations quickly understand a vendor’s accessibility readiness, compare products side by side — even those developed in different countries or following different accessibility frameworks — and identify any gaps before implementation.

Veridian Software: Accessibility Commitment

We are committed to making the Veridian platform accessible and inclusive for all users, including people with disabilities. Accessibility is an integral part of how we design, develop, and improve our products and services.

We align with recognised standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and continuously review our technology, content, and processes to support equitable access to information and digital experiences. Our Accessibility Conformance Report uses the VPAT® WCAG edition and assesses Veridian against WCAG 2.2 Level A and Level AA criteria.

This report provides transparency around how Veridian supports key accessibility requirements and helps libraries, archives, and cultural organisations deliver inclusive access to their digital collections.

Accessibility is an ongoing effort. We are committed to continuous improvement and to working with our clients and users to reduce barriers and ensure our platforms remain usable by as many people as possible.