In June 2005, the Ontario government passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) with the goal of making Ontario accessible by 2025. Under the Act, there are five standards which will require institutions to identify and prevent barriers for people with disabilities. The Information and Communications standard will impact day-to-day library services, primarily in how we provide all our patrons with equitable and timely access to both print and digital information.
In 2012, HLLR proposed that research be conducted to provide clarification on how HLLR member libraries may proceed to implement and provide leadership in AODA compliance, with specific reference to the Information and Communications Standards as it pertains to academic libraries.
Please see below for a list of ongoing and completed AODA research projects. For information about the Accessible Content ePortal (ACE) service for college libraries, please visit the ACE Service Page. For information about the research project "Video Conversion and Accessibility Requirements of Ontario's Colleges," please see the Video Streaming Research Projects and Studies page.
Thank you to all members, past and present, of the AODA Committee for College Libraries (formerly the AODA Research Panel), and the Library eResources Accessibility Project (LEAP) Steering Committee who have guided AODA research projects.>
AODA Research Projects
Library eResources Accessibility Project (LEAP) (April 2015)
- LEAP Training recordings and slides can be found on the LEAP page
- LEAP Environmental Scan (September 2015)
- LEAP Interim Report (Spring/Summer 2017)
Moving to AODA Compliance: Accessible Print Material and Ontario College Libraries (December 2013)
Research Project: AODA - A Compliance Study (June 2012)
- AODA Compliance Webinar: 30 November 2012
- Presentation pack by Dr. Vera Roberts, Research Facilitator, Inclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University - (.pdf)
- Audio file of AODA Compliance Webinar available upon request