Small, Meaningful Progress: Implementing a Readability Widget for a Neuro-Inclusive Library Website

Library websites may meet technical accessibility standards while still presenting barriers for users with dyslexia, ADHD, visual stress, and other reading differences. Building on earlier accessibility audits and direct feedback from a blind student worker, Hirons Library and Archives expanded its focus from screen-reader compatibility to readability and cognitive accessibility. Those earlier assessments demonstrated that automated testing and vendor documentation could not substitute for the experiences of actual users.

This presentation focuses on the library’s implementation of NC State University Libraries’ open-source Readability Widget. The widget allows users to apply the OpenDyslexic font, select a warmer background, highlight links, and hide distracting images, giving readers greater control over their digital environment. The session will examine the research behind these options, the technical challenges of adapting the widget within Springshare, mobile usability, and the collaboration required among librarians, web developers, faculty, and students. It argues that readability is not an aesthetic preference but an essential dimension of accessibility. For small libraries, meaningful progress does not necessarily require expensive software or outside consultants; it can begin with open-source tools, user feedback, thoughtful experimentation, and a willingness to design for flexibility rather than a single “typical” reader.