#122 Include the right people in purchasing decisions

Many libraries write accessibility features into their specifications for purchasing new technologies or new services. For example, a library might want a fax/scan service with on-screen instructions available in three languages, or a self-checkout machine that can comfortably be used by someone in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, it’s very easy for vendors to include a feature that increases accessibility on paper but not in practice. If that fax/scan purchasing committee doesn’t include a staff member (or volunteer) who speaks Vietnamese, how will they discover that the ‘Vietnamese version’ presented by the vendor is simply the English version run ineffectually through Google Translate? If no one participating in the tour of other libraries’ self-check machines is actually in a wheelchair, how will the team realize that the add-on shelf that everyone recommends negates the ability of a wheelchair user to pull up close enough to the screen to touch it?