The annual
Institutional Web Management Workshop (IWMW) series of events was launched in 1997 to support those with responsibilities for providing and developing institutional web services. The
IWMW 2012 event will be held in the University of Edinburgh on 18-20 July. Note that the
call for proposals for IWMW 2012 is currently open.
The power of the Web is its potential in maximising access to information and services to people, without the need to use specific applications or devices. In addition a goal is to provide access to people who may have a range of disabilities.
Although initial work focussed on promoting the benefits of use of WCAG guidelines, there is now a growing awareness of the limitations of these guidelines and the need to provide more user-focused approaches to the development of web services. Recent work in this area has highlighted the importance of the BS 8878 code of practice and illustrated how it may be used in the context of institutional repositories.
In addition a paper on Web accessibility metrics for a post digital world described how “as we move towards a ‘post-digital’ world where use of the Web becomes normalised, there is a need to address Web accessibility measurement challenges within a wider real-world context” and went on to “propose that metrics should draw on aspects of user experience to provide a more meaningful, real-world measure of the impact (or not) of accessibility barriers and therefore priority in addressing them“.
As
described in a post published in May 2011 recently drafted legislation covering use of cookies on web sites is requiring those with web management responsibilities to develop appropriate responses to the legislation.
A post on “The Half Term Report on Cookie Compliance” published in December 2011 reported on government guidance on the implementation of the legislation. We are currently working with a small group of university web managers in documenting best practices for conformance with the legislation.
