Q. How Do I Know My Document Is Accessible or Section 508 Compliant?

Reminder: everything we publish or create and save for a colleague or a customer must conform to Section 508 standards. Following are some specific and some general resources and reference links to help us comply with the federal and county requirements.

Publishing a Document (PDF, Word, Office) on the FCPL Public Web Site or on fairfaxNET

1. Create/recreate your document in Word, using this DIT instruction set for Word for reference.
   1. If you are using a different version of Word from that used in the reference document, try this Google search:
      1. https://www.google.com/search?q=Create+an+accessible+Word+document.
2. Save the Word document as a PDF, using the same DIT instruction set for reference.
   1. If you are using a different version of Word from that used in the reference document, try this Google search:
      1. https://www.google.com/search?q=Create+an+accessible+PDF+from+a+Word+document.
3. Verify the PDF is accessible using Foxit PhantomPDF's accessibility checker tool (DIT instructions for PDFs).
   1. Save the results of your test (or create a screen capture showing the error-free accessibility checker results).
4. If your file is for the Public Web Site, send your verified PDF and its accessibility checker results to Internet Services by email.
   1. The day after publishing your PDF online, we will know whether or not it has passed a County-wide web accessibility test.
      1. If your PDF does not pass it will immediately be removed from the website and you will be notified.
5. If your file is for FairfaxNET, complete the Documents publishing process per the instructions on Content Authors Central.

Other resources:

County/FCPL:

• Web and Document Accessibility Tools and Standards (DIT)
  • PowerPoint accessibility tips
  • Excel accessibility tips
  • MS Publisher tips - Michigan State University
• Tech Monday Webinar: Overview of Accessibility and 508 Compliance Information

Federal Government:

• Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities (DOJ)
• Create Accessible Digital Products (GSA)
• Create Accessible Electronic Documents (GSA)
  • refer to the Checklists sections.
• Glossary of Section 508 Terms (GSA)
• Guide to the Section 508 Standards (Access Board)
• Section508.gov (GSA)

Other Organizations

• (Microsoft) Adding Alt Text for Office 2016/2013 products
• (Microsoft) Create accessible PDFs
• (The A11y Project) How-Tos and Webinars