Ensuring accessibility of digital library services for disabled people in the entities of the Russian Federation

The RF government has approved The Strategy for Librarianship that, above all, comprises the tasks of providing equitable access of the citizens to information and building inclusive library space. To assess the strategy implementation, G. A. Albrech Federal Research and Educational Center for Medical and Social Expertise and Rehabilitation of the RF Ministry of Labor and Social Security monitors annually the degree of library services accessibility and implementation of the ”roadmaps” by the regional authorities. The data are collected through a digital hub. The authors cite the findings of the survey: number of accessible e-libraries in the RF entities, and municipal and regional library websites available for visually impaired users. The indicators obtained correspond to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) domains and unified scale. The resulting ranking evidences that the sector of inclusive library services is common in Russia. However, the limitation of this assessment is that it is based exclusively on the indicators included into the regional “roadmaps”. The survey findings are incorporated when planning for facilitating libraries accessibility on the regional level. The study is accomplished within the R&D project “Scientific rationale and development of proposals for targeting accessibility of objects and services for disabled persons” as approved by the RF Ministry of Labor and Social Security.