Digital Accessibility and ALA-Title II updates to the ADA and impact on ALA digital products & services
Digital accessibility and libraries –recent rules impacting procurement
In 2024, a rule was finalized that has a direct impact on Title II entities and the accessibility of their websites and mobile apps. A big part of the rule highlights the importance of accessibility of third-party services. With that, we’ve had several library systems, both public and academic, already reach out across various ALA channels to inquire about our compliance status, and some organizations have noted that they won’t be able to move forward with their current ALA product(s) until receiving our documentation.
Impact on library field and ALA
The rule applies to most libraries, including 1,599 degree-granting postsecondary institutions, 85% of public libraries that are government entities, as well as public schools, and some special libraries. These qualifying parties must prioritize policies, procedures, and training to meet WCAG 2.1 AA requirements, depending on service area size.
The new guidance also details that accountability for work done in contract with a third party is not exempt from the rule, and libraries must strive to ensure that procurement and contract practices are approached with accessibility as a foundational principle.
Update: Deadlines extended to 2027 & 2028
While the original deadlines for Title II web and mobile app accessibility compliance were April 2026 (for entities serving +50,000) and April 2027 (for entities serving less than 50k), the deadlines were extended as of April 20, 2026, to the following:
- The compliance date for State and local government entities with a total population of 50,000 or more is extended from April 24, 2026, to April 26, 2027
- The compliance date for public entities with a total population of less than 50,000, or any special district government, is extended from April 26, 2027, to April 26, 2028.
What requests your unit may receive
This request might come in the form of folks asking for one of the following at it applies to a specific ALA digital service, product, or platform:
1. VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template)
2. ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report)
3. Accessibility Statement, Policy, Road Map, or Action Plan
4. General Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Compliance
Who to contact when a request is received
To align communication and help us centrally track requests and responses, please forward any inquiries received regarding our compliance level, documentation, or policy to myself, and I will work with IT and the unit to provide further resources and/or follow up with any questions for ALA staff or the requestor.
Hillary Pearson, Program Manager, Accessibility Services: HPearson@ala.org
Building accessible habits
Use ALA's Best Practices for Digital and Document Accessibility web resource to build accessible practices in your content creation! Tips and resources on page structure, alt text, building accessible links, and more can be found.
Available accessibility information
- ALA does have an Accessibility Commitment Statement that is publicly available on the footer of our main domain, which details as a high-level our current measures to support accessibility on the ALA Domain, what accessibility features are included, and pathways to share feedback. This commitment is part of a larger conversation around ALA’s digital infrastructure strategy and is intended to be revisited as plans evolve.
- ALA currently has accessibility auditing of the ALA.org domain from May 2025, and our vendor provided us with an Accessibility Compliance Report. This report is available to vendors by request.
- Continued auditing is ongoing in 2026 to help inform future Accessibility Compliance reporting, where critical issues need to be addressed, and ownership of remediation tasks.
