Appendix IV. List of Guidelines or Design Recommendations

A. Difficulty accessing information

A1. Difficulty accessing a clickable element

    1. Ensure

       for all clickable elements are understandable
    2. Ensure

       can be activated using a keyboard
    3. Provide instruction on how to access items using a keyboard
    4. Provide a mapping of primary DL functions and designated screen controls to corresponding screen reader commands

A2. Difficulty accessing content of a scanned document

    1. Ensure the full text of a scanned document is readable
    2. Provide essential information for a scanned document with readability issues

A3/D4. Difficulty locating or accessing information related to visual items

    1. Provide concise and meaningful

       for all visual items
    2. Provide

       for images of text documents
    3. Provide audio descriptions for video materials
    4. Provide descriptive

      for each image or video item
    5. Ensure alternative text, transcripts and descriptions for visual items can be easily located
    6. Ensure alternative text, transcripts and descriptions for visual items can be easily accessed
    7. Provide help information regarding alternative text, transcript, or description access

A4/D5. Difficulty locating or accessing multimedia controls

    1. Ensure the use of multimedia players with minimal player controls
    2. Label each multimedia player control in a way that clearly conveys its purpose and function
    3. Ensure all multimedia player controls are efficiently accessible and operable, including keyboard control and compatibility with

    4. Provide recognizable information about the length and progress of an A/V file playing in a DL
    5. Provide metadata information about multimedia items
    6. Provide instructions and help for accessing audio/video files

A5/D6. Difficulty locating or accessing search features

    1. Offer quick and easy paths to relevant search features from prominent locations within a DL page
    2. Offer relevant search functions at logically appropriate locations on a DL page
    3. Ensure every category of search features have similar functions and appearance for large-scale DLs or integrated DLs
    4. Label search features and their components in a meaningful way
    5. Ensure search features and their components are accessible to

      users

 

B. Difficulty evaluating information

B1. Difficulty assessing relevance of an item

    1. Ensure that the association between query terms/related terms and the search results list/each retrieved item are apparent
    2. Provide descriptive information for each item in the search results
    3. Provide instruction on how to evaluate the relevance of a retrieved item at the search results list level and at the individual document level
    4. Assist users to efficiently evaluate search result lists and retrieved individual documents

B2. Difficulty assessing format of an item

    1. Ensure the file format of each item in a DL is clearly and correctly specified and provided to users
    2. Provide instruction on how to use each file format

 

C. Difficulty with help

C1. Difficulty detecting or using dynamic features and content

    1. Ensure dynamic features and content of a DL are accessible
    2. Ensure accessibility of notifications regarding changes or updates in features and content
    3. Inform users of the name, function, and status of features
    4. Offer assistance in detecting and using dynamic features and content
    5. Provide instruction on how to detect and use dynamic features and content

C2/D7. Difficulty locating or understanding help information

    1. Offer help information relevant to all tasks supported by a DL
    2. Assist users in finding relevant help information
    3. Ensure help information is understandable to users of all ability levels
    4. Explain how to perform various functions of a DL in a meaningful way

C3. Difficulty recognizing or interpreting a label

    1. Label features and elements in the DL to indicate their functions
    2. Label the items in the DL to indicate the nature of documents
    3. Ensure the clarity of the purpose, function, and outcome of using features and elements
    4. Offer assistance in interpreting the meaning of

      whenever necessary

C4. Difficulty understanding how to use a DL

    1. Clearly convey the purpose, functions, structure, and coverage of a DL
    2. Provide instruction to explain how to use a DL
    3. Clearly convey the purpose of each section of a DL
    4. Clearly convey the availability of DL features and their functions
    5. Ensure DL feedback is accessible

C5. Difficulty understanding or using a specific feature

    1. Label a feature and its components in a way that reflects their functions based on user expectations
    2. Explain how to use a feature effectively
    3. Offer assistance in interacting with a feature

 

D. Difficulty locating specific information, items, or features

D1/E1. Difficulty detecting or locating search results

    1. Clearly label the results section for recognizability
    2. Provide a shortcut to the DL search result list
    3. Notify users that the query has been processed and results have been generated
    4. Provide guidance on how to recognize whether search results have been generated or changed

D2. Difficulty locating a specific word, phrase, or related term

    1. Enable text searching within the captioning or transcript of a video item
    2. Support text search for keywords within an item
    3. Provide instructions on how to perform text search (e.g., a specific word, phrase, and related term) within a DL
    4. Ensure the output of text search is accessible

D3. Difficulty locating metadata

    1. Offer a quick and easy way to find each element of the metadata for an item
    2. Offer a quick and easy way to identify each element of the metadata for an item

 

E. Difficulty identifying current status, path, or cursor mode

E2. Difficulty identifying current location or tracking paths

    1. Maintain hierarchical navigation structures consistently across DL pages
    2. Articulate the current location and paths throughout a DL
    3. Title each DL page, each section of a page, and landmarks in a meaningful way
    4. Allow a user to return to a previously visited location in a DL
    5. Label all navigation elements in a meaningful way

E3. Difficulty identifying items that require downloading before viewing

    1. Indicate which items must be first downloaded in order to be viewed
    2. Provide guidance on how to view items required to be downloaded directly from a DL
    3. Facilitate display of items that require downloading

E4. Difficulty navigating through a DL

    1. Ensure DL pages have a consistent structure and layout
    2. Enable quick and easy ways to navigate from one point to another within a DL
    3. Label navigational aids in a meaningful way
    4. Provide help regarding how to navigate through a DL

E5. Difficulty recognizing current status of a DL

    1. Ensure that page loading status or page update status is recognizable
    2. Reduce page loading time
    3. Explain how to detect a change or update in the status of a DL

E6. Difficulty recognizing pre-existing text in an input box

    1. Ensure that the presence of pre-existing text in an input field is signaled before a user starts interacting with that field
    2. Avoid

       in form fields
    3. Provide instruction related to pre-existing and placeholder text

 

F. Confusion about multiple programs, DL structures, or search results structure

F1. Confusion about digital library structure or browse categories

    1. Maintain a logical hierarchical structure for a DL, including page layout, content organization, and browse categories
    2. Ensure that structural elements have meaningful labels
    3. Explain the structure of a DL and its browse categories

F2. Difficulty understanding results structure or layout

    1. Maintain a simple and consistent logical structure and layout for presenting search results in a DL
    2. Ensure that structural elements of search results have meaningful labels
    3. Explain the structure and layout of search results presented, as well as how to interact with the structural elements
    4. Enable users to control their search results layout

 

G. Avoidance tendency

G1. Avoidance of format, approach, or Features

    1. Offer assistance in using visual items, browsing collections, and interacting with advanced/dynamic/embedded features
    2. Provide explanations on using visual items, browsing collections, and interacting with advanced/dynamic/embedded features using keyboard commands

 

H. Difficulty constructing or refining Searches

H1. Difficulty constructing search queries

    1. Explain how to construct a search statement and select search terms for effectively formulating a DL search
    2. Offer assistance during the process of formulating a search statement
    3. Indicate errors as they occur when entering search statements

H2. Difficulty refining search queries

    1. Explain how to refine the most recent search statement, specifically narrowing or broadening a search statement
    2. Offer assistance in refining a search, particularly narrowing or broadening a search statement

H3. Difficulty tracking searches

    1. Make search terms from previous queries available on request for reuse and combination
    2. Enable refining of the most recent query
    3. Explain how to monitor progressions of previously used search terms

 

I. Difficulty with compatibility issues

I1. Situations related to compatibility Issues

    1. Ensure a DL maintains accessibility, navigability, and searchability across diverse DL platforms, screen-reader software, Web browser applications, and operating systems
    2. Ensure that DL accessibility across diverse platforms is also maintained over time despite platform updates and modifications
    3. Inform users about the compatibility of browsers, helper applications, and screen readers to access a DL
    4. Indicate when a user focus moves in or out of a DL
Contact Us: Professor Iris Xie (hiris@uwm.edu), University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee