---

layout: secondary-nav

title: General Info

nav: general-info

active: Accessibility

subnav:

- name: 'Contact'

url: '#contactus'

- name: 'Quiet Room'

url: '#quietroom'

- name: 'For Presenters'

url: '#presenters'

---

<section class="general-info">

<div class="container-fluid">

<div class="row">

<div class="col-12">

<div class="page-header">

<h1>Accessibility</h1>

</div>

<h2 id="contactus">Contact</h2>

<p>Contact <a href="mailto:{{site.data.conf.accessibility-email}}">{{site.data.conf.accessibility-email}}</a> with any questions or concerns related to the conference's accessibility.</p>

{% if site.data.conf.quiet-room.show %}

<h2 id="quietroom">Quiet Room</h2>

<p>

From Tuesday to Friday a quiet room will be available at the conference hotel,

located in the Zinfandel Room on the second floor (accessible via elevator). The purpose of this room is to provide a quiet space so that attendees can take a mental or physical break from

the many goings on. The room is open to all attendees during the conference hours.

</p>

<p>

If you use the Quiet Room, we ask you to abide by the following rules:

</p>

<ul>

<li> The quiet space is not for private discussions or meetings.

Any talking should be brief and kept to a whisper.

</li>

<li> While in the room, please turn off or silence any electronics,

especially cellphones. This is not a space to make phone calls,

catch up on emails, or otherwise do work. This is a space to relax.

</li>

<li> If you want to listen to music, watch a video, etc., please

wear headphones and keep the volume low. If someone asks you

to further turn down the volume, please do so.

</li>

<li> Personal belongings should not be left unattended.

</li>

<li> Please leave the space in the same condition (or better) as

you found it.

</li>

<li> Food and drink is permitted but avoid noisy foods or anything

with strong odors.

</li>

<li> We will generally keep the lights as low as possible while

maintaining a safe space.

</li>

<li> Above all, respect your fellow conference goers in this space

so that all of you can find a bit of quiet.

</li>

</ul>

{% else %}

{% comment %} remove from secondary nav (jQuery not yet on page) {% endcomment %}

<script>document.querySelector('.secondarynav a[href="#quietroom"]').parentElement.remove()</script>

{% endif %}

<h2>Live Captioning</h2>

<p>During the general conference, Code4Lib {{site.data.conf.year}} will feature live captioning.

{% if site.data.conf.closed-captioning.show %}

Attendees, both local and remote, may view the text stream at:

<a href="{{site.data.conf.closed-captioning.url}}">{{site.data.conf.closed-captioning.url}}</a>.

{% endif %}

</p>

<h2>Use the Microphone</h2>

<p> The single greatest act you can to do to promote accessibility at Code4Lib {{site.data.conf.year}} is to

<strong>use the microphone</strong>. It doesn't matter if you think you are loud or

you can project, you should use the microphone. It benefits everyone:

</p>

<ul>

<li>When a speaker uses the mic properly, you all hear them better. </li>

<li>When you ask a question with a mic, the speaker and everyone else hears your question. </li>

<li>Using the mic ensures everyone livestreaming or watching recorded talks can share the C4L experience. </li>

<li>Using the mic improves the quality of the live captioning feed.</li>

</ul>

<h3>Microphone Tips for Presenters</h3>

<ul>

<li>For both a podium mic and one on a stand, it should point towards your mouth. Adjust the height

of the mic and angle its neck to point towards your mouth and nose.

</li>

<li>You should place your mouth about 8-10 inches (20-25cm or two hand widths) away from the mic. You can

get closer but you may find that it limits your natural movement.

</li>

<li>If you move around the podium at all, you should adjust the mic as you move. You should always

be talking directly at the head of the mic from the front. Never to the side.

</li>

<li>If you are copresenting, you need to make sure the mic points at the speaker. Use the second

mic on stage or adjust it to point at who is speaking. Standing side by side with the mic in

the middle is not as effective as you may think.

</li>

</ul>

<h3>Using a Handheld Mic</h3>

<ul>

<li>The line of the microphone should always point towards your mouth and nose. Do not hold it

like an ice cream cone. Hold it more like a candy bar or at a 45 degree angle.

</li>

<li>If you turn your head, the mic should also turn so that it stays pointed at your mouth.</li>

<li>You should hold the mic 5-8 inches (15-20cm) from your mouth.</li>

<li>Hold the mic firmly. Any shaking may be picked up and effect your voice quality.</li>

<li>If the mic is not working, wait for staff to offer a replacement or fix it. Do not

just try yelling.

</li>

</ul>

<h2 id="presenters">Accessibility Instructions for Presenters</h2>

<p>

All presenters should please review these accessibility requirements and presentation logistics. Make note

of the four action items for your talk(s).

</p>

<h3>Action 1: PC/Mac Compatibility</h3>

<p>

Ensure that your slides will display correctly on BOTH Mac and PC.

There will be a presenter laptop at the podium to streamline transitions

and minimize tech issues. We don’t yet know if it will be a Mac or a PC.

If you absolutely need to use your own laptop (e.g. a demo that only

works on your machine), please let your Program Committee Liaison know ASAP.

</p>

<h3>Action 2: Submit Slides Early for Supporting Live Captioning</h3>

<p>

Code4Lib {{site.data.conf.year}} will feature live captioning during the three days of the

general conference. In order to improve the quality of this service, we

ask presenters to send their slides to us so that the captioners can use

them as reference and improve the quality of the live text stream.

</p>

{% if site.data.conf.slides.url != "" %}

<p>

Please submit your slides to the <a href="{{site.data.conf.slides.url}}">Code4Lib {{site.data.conf.year}} repository</a>

or to {{site.data.conf.slides.contact}}

(<a href="mailto:{{site.data.conf.slides.email}}?Subject=Code4Lib%20Slides">{{site.data.conf.slides.email}}</a>)

at least 24 hours before your presentation (the earlier the better).

</p>

{% endif %}

<p>

<strong>NOTE:</strong> You can continue to edit and change your slides

after submission. You do not need to resubmit any changes unless you

feel you added any difficult words or terms that would be challenging

for live captioning. Keep in mind that the captioners may not have domain

expertise in libraries.

</p>

<h3>Action 3: Design a Visually Accessible Presentation</h3>

<p>

Presenters are encouraged to use the following guidelines to ensure that

their presentations are visually accessible to attendees.

</p>

<h4>Fonts</h4>

<ul>

<li>Avoid fonts that use thin strokes in the characters.</li>

<li>Choose readable sans serif or serif fonts. Generally avoid script or monospaced fonts.</li>

<li>

Suggested fonts include: Helvetica and its clones (Arial, Calibri,

etc.), Gill Sans, Comic Sans (seriously!), Verdana, Franklin Gothic,

Rockwell, Tahoma, Lucida, and Times New Roman.

</li>

<li>Use underlining, italics, and boldface sparingly.</li>

<li>

Aim for a font size of 20-30 point. Generally, do not go below

18-point for slide content (if you plan to share your slides

with the community, it’s okay to use smaller fonts for references

and URIs).

</li>

</ul>

<h4>Colors</h4>

<ul>

<li>

Choose text and background colors that have good contrast. You can

use a <a href="http://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/">contrast

checker</a> to check for good contrast. The web accessibility thresholds

are not relevant to slide presentations, but higher contrast is still better.

</li>

<li>

For color blindness considerations, add patterns or labels in graphs and charts.

This is especially important if are using either red-green or yellow-blue

color combinations. These are the two most common types of color blindness.

If you are uncertain about a color choice, a <a href="http://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/">color

blindness simulator</a> may help.

</li>

</ul>

<h4>Videos/Animations</h4>

<ul>

<li>Avoid blinking text and animations that endlessly repeat.</li>

<li>

If your presentation features lots of animations, videos, etc.,

please include a warning at the start of your talk. This is especially

needed if any contain lots of flicker.

</li>

<li>

If a video contains sound or dialogue, please try to use a version

with captioning.

</li>

</ul>

<h4>Sharing Slides</h4>

<ul>

<li>

Participants are encouraged to share their slides. If placed on the

web, please include a short link in your opening slides for attendees

to view on their personal machines.

</li>

<li>

Include speaker notes with your files if the file format allows.

In particular, describe any images, tables, charts, etc. in the notes.

</li>

<li>Specific advice for different presentation tools and formats:

<ul>

<li>

PDFs: Use PDF/A format: <a href="http://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/">

http://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/</a>

</li>

<li>

PowerPoint and KeyNote accessibility advice:

<a href="http://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint/">http://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint/</a>

and <a href="https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/academic-advising-support/Accessible%20Presentations.pdf">https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/academic-advising-support/Accessible%20Presentations.pdf</a>

</li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</div>

</div>